Vested interests trying to disrupt NEET: Karnataka Dy CM
Bengaluru: Amid calls from some quarters against conduct of NEET as scheduled, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan on Wednesday said he saw no reason for putting it off and claimed some "vested interests" were trying to disrupt the medical entrance exam since its inception.
The state government had successfully conducted the common entrance test (CET) for engineering and other courses for more than 1.94 lakh students, including 63 COVID positive students who achieved good ranks, he said.
"When the reality is so conducive, I do not understand why people are opposing the conduct of NEET. I would like to advise all of them that they should not play with the future of the children," he told reporters here.
Narayan, who holds the Higher Education portfolio, was responding to a question on calls for deferment of the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET), to be held next month, citing COVID-19 pandemic.
He said certain 'invisible' groups wanted seats allocated through an "opaque system" rather than on the basis of merit through the entrance test.
"Some vested interests have been trying to disrupt the NEET examination since the beginning. There is a huge ecosystem behind it with efforts going on for many years now.
However, their objectives will remain unfulfilled," the Deputy Chief Minister said.
Narayan asserted that the NEET needed to be conducted as it was a well-structured exam which allows students to take up admissions throughout the country with just one test.
There have been calls from various quarters for postponing the entrance exams in view of COVID-19 situation.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday urged all chief ministers of states ruled by opposition parties to together move the Supreme Court for postponing the NEET and JEE exams, saying the students are not prepared.
She was addressing a virtual meeting convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to discuss the key issues confronting the opposition ruled states.
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1,000 buses checked in Andhra, over 200 penalised for violations: Transport minister
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Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Transport Minister M Ramprasad Reddy on Saturday said over 1,000 buses have been checked across the state and 236 penalised for lacking proper documents.
Reddy's remarks come in the wake of four ghastly bus accidents claiming 45 lives, of these 33 charred to death, and injuring several others within six months.
"We are taking intense action to avoid road accidents. Across the state, we checked 1,036 buses. Cases have been registered, and penalties were slapped against 236 buses without proper documents," he said in an official press release.
According to the minister, authorities have undertaken checks at 16 points, including toll plazas and check-posts, across the state.
The transport minister promised regular checking drives and stringent action against violations.
Reddy asserted that the government gives 'primacy to passenger safety' and called on everybody to adhere to the law.
