NEET Paper Leak: Kharge slams BJP over the issue, calls 'bringing law as mere whitewash'

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday criticised the ruling government over the NEET-UG exam irregularities. He accused the BJP of promoting corruption and an "education mafia" and said that introducing a new law would be merely a "BJP whitewash."

In a post on 'X', Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that 70 question papers have been leaked in the last seven years. He questioned why the BJP has not taken any action so far.

"No matter how much effort BJP makes in the NEET scam, it cannot escape its responsibility in promoting fraud, corruption and education mafia," Kharge said on X.

Talking about the anti-paper leak law, Kharge said, "The law against paper leak was not notified, when the Education Minister was asked about it in the press conference, he said that this law has been notified. This law got the assent of the President on 13 February 2024, but the law was notified only last night. Why did the Education Minister of the Modi government lie that the law has been notified and the Ministry of Law and Justice is yet to frame its rules?"

Kharge further criticised Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, stating that Pradhan initially denied any paper leak. However, after arrests were made in Gujarat, Bihar, and Haryana, he claimed that since the leaks were local, the exam would not be re-conducted.

Kharge pointed out that in 2015, despite only 44 students being involved in a similar issue, the Supreme Court ordered a retake of the Pre-Medical Test for six lakh candidates.

Kharge questioned why the Modi government is not re-conducting the NEET exam despite the Education Minister admitting to irregularities, citing the Supreme Court's stance that any fraud, no matter how small, should warrant action.

The Congress leader criticised the National Testing Agency (NTA), noting that within nine days, the agency had cancelled or postponed three significant exams. He further highlighted that despite recent legislation, the UP Police Recruitment and Promotion Board (UPPRPB) exam paper was leaked in BJP-governed Uttar Pradesh, with connections traced to a company in Gujarat.

Questioning the paper leak, Kharge said, "Why are papers still being leaked despite passing a law against paper leak? When 70 papers were leaked in the last seven years, why did the Modi government not take any strict action against it?"

The Ministry of Education has formed a high-level committee of experts to propose reforms for the examination process, enhance data security protocols, and improve the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA). Led by Dr. K Radhakrishnan, former chairman of ISRO, the 7-member committee aims to submit its recommendations to the ministry within the next two months.

"In order to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations through National Testing Agency (NTA), Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education constituted a High-Level Committee of Experts to make recommendations on Reform in mechanism of examination process improvement in data security protocols and structure and functioning of National Testing Agency," the ministry said.

The NTA is under scrutiny following allegations of irregularities in this year's NEET and NET exams. These issues have sparked protests nationwide, with demonstrators and political parties calling for the disbandment of the NTA. Adding to the controversy, an unprecedented 67 students achieved a perfect score of 720 out of 720 marks, raising further concerns.