Commenting on the alleged irregularities in the results of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to medical colleges, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal has criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “silence” on the issue and urged him to accept that “corruption is prevalent” in the country.
The results of NEET-UG 2024, declared on June 4, caused an uproar amid several issues: 1,500 students received grace marks, there was a high number of perfect scores, and allegations of a leaked question paper. Several petitions were filed in the Supreme Court and high courts by students seeking a re-test, alleging irregularities and discrepancies. The SC has allowed the retest of over 1,500 students who received grace marks.
Speaking from California, Sibal said, “First of all, the Prime Minister should come in front of the people in Parliament and say that yes, we made a mistake. Corruption has been going on in the country for a long time and it is prevalent in every department. Until the government does not accept this matter, there will be no solution to this.”
“I remember that the Prime Minister had said that corruption in our ministries has been eradicated. So it seems that this (NEET) is not a case of corruption, this is a matter of goods and services,” Sibal quipped.
He further criticized the Prime Minister’s “silence” over the NEET issue and other matters like the Manipur violence. “I will remind the Prime Minister of what you said; if you see corruption taking place, then you must comment on it in some way or another. You always remain silent. Whether it is about Manipur, he remains silent or whether it is about terrorism, he remains silent. Terrorism will end, cash transactions will end, and corruption will also end. We are watching all this,” he added.
Sibal, who is a former HRD minister, noted that the NEET matter falls under the Health Ministry’s jurisdiction, not the HRD Ministry. “The Health Minister has not commented on this till date. The HRD minister, whatever he says, does not come to work. In a profession where we are going to make a student a doctor, if that student becomes a doctor by paying money, then how will he practice medicine? What kind of doctor will he be?” he questioned.
Several petitions were filed in the apex court seeking the recall of NEET-UG 2024 results and a fresh examination, alleging paper leakage and malpractices in the test held on May 5.
The NEET-UG examination, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), paves the way for admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.
On June 13, the NTA informed the Supreme Court that the scorecards of 1,563 candidates who received “grace marks” in the NEET-UG exam would be canceled, and those candidates would have a chance to reappear for the exam on June 23, with results to be declared before June 30.
It further stated that a committee has been constituted to review the results of over 1,563 candidates who were awarded “grace marks” to compensate for the loss of time suffered while appearing for NEET-UG. The Supreme Court will hear the petitions on July 8.
