NEET scam is Vyapam 2.0; why is PM Modi silent: Congress
New Delhi (PTI): Stepping up its attack on the government over the NEET exam issue, the Congress on Friday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "silence" on the matter and asserted that only a Supreme Court-monitored forensic probe can safeguard the future of lakhs of young students.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that the Modi government has started "covering up the NEET scam" through Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the National Testing Agency (NTA).
"If the paper was not leaked in NEET then -- why were 13 accused arrested in Bihar due to paper leak? Did the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Patna police not expose the payment of Rs 30 lakh-Rs 50 lakh to the education mafia and organised gangs involved in the racket in exchange for papers?" he said in a post in Hindi on X.
"Has NEET-UG cheating racket not been busted in Godhra, Gujarat? In which three people are involved including a person running a coaching centre, a teacher and another person and according to Gujarat Police, transactions of more than Rs 12 crore have come to light between the accused?" Kharge said.
If according to the Modi government, no paper was leaked in NEET, then why were these arrests made, he asked.
"What conclusion is drawn from this? Was the Modi government trying to fool the people of the country earlier or now? The Modi government has crushed the aspirations of 24 lakh youth," Kharge said.
Twenty four lakh youth appear in NEET exam to become doctors, and work hard day and night for one lakh medical seats, he said.
"Out of these 1 lakh seats, around 55,000 are in government colleges where seats are reserved for SC, ST, OBC, EWS categories. This time the Modi government has misused the NTA and has massively rigged the marks and ranks, due to which the cut-off for reserved seats has also increased," the Congress chief alleged.
It appears that a game of grace marks, paper leaks and rigging was played to deprive meritorious students from getting government admission at concessional rates, Kharge said.
Addressing a press conference on the issue at the AICC headquarters here, Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera claimed that the "NEET scam is Vyapam 2.0" and the Modi government wants to whitewash it.
The scam in Vyapam or Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board broke out in 2013, wherein candidates had bribed officials and rigged exams by deploying imposters to write their answer sheets.
Pradhan's brazen statement of calling widespread protests, multiple court cases and tremendous outrage by students as "motivated" is like rubbing salt on the wounds of 24 lakh aspirants, whose future is being destroyed by the BJP, Khera said.
Posing questions to PM Modi and Pradhan, Khera asked is it not true that the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of the Patna Police (Bihar) which is probing the NEET-UG 2024 paper leak, has found medical aspirants paid huge sums ranging from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh each to 'brokers' involved in the racket, to get access to question papers ahead of the examination on May 5.
"Can the Education Minister deny that a NEET-UG cheating racket has been busted in Gujarat's Godhra involving three people including a person who runs coaching centre, a teacher and one another, wherein the investigation in the case has revealed transaction worth over Rs 12 crore between students, their parents and the accused?" he said.
Is it not a fact that this year, in 2024, there were 67 toppers who were given a perfect score of 720, while in 2023, the number was just two, Khera said.
Is it not true that this year saw an abnormal increase in the students getting scores above 690, he asked.
"Is it not true that multiple NEET-UG 2024 toppers belong to the same state and have similar roll numbers? Were they from the same examination centres?" he said.
Is it not true that the results of the NEET Examination were declared 10 days earlier, Khera further asked.
"PM Modi cannot always remain a mute spectator. Why is he silent when the future of 24 lakh youngsters is at stake?" he said.
Khera asked why did the Modi government and the NTA "inflate" marks versus ranks, this year.
"The complete result of last year and this year of students scoring 580 plus should be made public by NTA if the Modi government claims that the entire examination process is transparent. The centres of students scoring 580 plus should also be made public to see how many students travelled far off from their place to take NEET exam," he said.
Khera said the board marks should also be correlated with NEET marks for last year and this year to see how much the data correlates.
"The videos of centres where there are major high scorers must be released so that this scam can be identified as OMR was filled after exam or at NTA office or some impersonation happened so that the truth comes out," he said.
Only a Supreme Court-monitored forensic probe is a solution to safeguard the future of lakhs of young students, Khera asserted.
The Centre and the NTA had on Thursday told the Supreme Court they had cancelled the grace marks given to 1,563 candidates who took the examination for admission to MBBS and other such courses.
They will have the option to either take a re-test or forgo the compensatory marks awarded to them for loss of time, the Centre had said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Karnataka power tussle: BJP leader calls Siddaramaiah 'Sultan for 15 days'
Bengaluru/Bagalkot (PTI): In the midst of the ongoing power tussle within the ruling Congress in Karnataka, senior BJP leader and MP Govind Karjol called CM Siddaramaiah "Pandrah din-ka-Sultan" (Sultan for 15 days), and said after that, he will not be the chief minister of the state.
Speculation has once again surfaced within the Congress party and political circles about a possible decision on leadership change and cabinet reshuffle after May 4, once the results for Assembly elections in four states and one union territory, along with bypolls to two Assembly constituencies in Karnataka, are announced.
"With the fight for the CM chair in the Congress, there seems to be no administration at Vidhana Soudha. The result for Siddaramaiah's CM chair fight will also be declared, along with election results for five states (four states and one union territory) and bypoll results for Bagalkot and Davanagere South Assembly seats in Karnataka," Karjol, a former Deputy CM, said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "As per today's information, Siddaramaiah is a Sardar for fifteen days, he is Pandrah din-ka-Sultan, after that Siddaramaiah will not be the chief minister of the state."
Stating that Shivakumar is ready to take up the top job, the MP said that this is the reason Siddaramaiah's supporters have gone to New Delhi to meet the Congress President.
"Already 40-odd legislators have lobbied in support of Siddaramaiah; about 50 are lobbying in support of Shivakumar. Amid this fight for the CM chair, the administration has completely collapsed," he said, urging the government to focus on addressing drinking water issues in various parts of the state amid summer by releasing at least Rs 50 crore per district.
PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Monday met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and General Secretary (in charge of Karnataka) Randeep Surjewala in New Delhi and requested them to address the speculation regarding the change of leadership in Karnataka.
Subsequently, Social Welfare Minister H C Mahadevappa too met the party leadership in Delhi.
Both Jarkiholi and Mahadevappa are considered close to Siddaramaiah.
While MLAs and leaders who want Shivakumar to be elevated as CM have recently claimed they expect some "sweet news" by May 15, which is their leader's birthday.
Meanwhile, a team of 40 MLAs is preparing to visit New Delhi to press the Congress high command for a Cabinet reshuffle.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka hit out at the Congress leadership for indulging in "power tussle" instead of addressing the people's concerns. He called the government "anti-people" and "dead" to the people of the state.
With the fight for the CM chair, the ruling Congress in Karnataka seems to be shifting to Delhi. Congress MLAs are repeatedly touring Delhi, upset over the state leadership amid a power struggle between the CM and Deputy CM. This proves that there is no value for the state leadership," he said.
Pointing out that the Deputy CM Shivakumar was not present at the recent special cabinet meeting, which decided on internal reservation among SCs, the opposition leader said, "If the cabinet meeting was held purposely, despite knowing that Shivakumar was in Delhi, it proves that there are factions within the party"
"This government is dead in a way," he said, as he hit out at the Congress MLAs and Ministers, including Shivakumar, for doing "Delhi Yatras" instead of addressing drinking water issues in various parts of the state amid summer, picking up in the state.
