NEET is a commercial exam, designed for rich people: Rahul Gandhi slams Modi govt in Lok Sabha
New Delhi/IBNS: Training his guns at the Modi government over the alleged paperleak in NEET, Leader of Opposition and Congress MP, Rahul Gandhi, on Monday called the examination "commercial" saying it has been "designed for rich people".
In the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address to Parliament, Gandhi said, "NEET is not a professional exam but a commercial exam. In NEET, a student can be topper or excellent but can't go to medical college if they do not have money."
"The examination has been designed and centralised for rich people and not poor and meritorious. Thousands of crores of money are being profited. We have seen 70 paper leaks in the last 7 years.
"It's an institutional failure. We wanted to help the government but they don't want discussion," he added.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) last Thursday carried out the first arrests in the NEET-UG paper leak case in Bihar, detaining two accused from Patna named Manish Kumar and Ashutosh.
According to CBI sources, Manish Kumar allegedly transported students in his car and arranged accommodation for about two dozen students implicated in the scandal, while Ashutosh is accused of providing lodging for the students at his home, reported NDTV.
The controversy arose when 67 students achieved perfect scores of 720 in the NEET-UG exam.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) said this happened as some candidates were awarded grace marks due to a faulty question and logistical delays in paper distribution at some centers.
However, a Bihar Police investigation revealed that the exam paper had been leaked to a select group of candidates.
The NEET-UG exam, taken by nearly 24 lakh aspiring medical students, was held on May 5, and the results were released on June 4.
Despite the NTA's efforts to manage the situation, allegations of a widespread leak continued with protests and legal actions nationwide.
The Supreme Court also got involved, slamming the NTA for its handling of the issue.