Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha of the Indian Parliament were adjourned on Friday amidst chaos as the Opposition leaders demanded a discussion on alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
MPs from various Opposition parties, including the Congress, raised adjournment motions in both Houses seeking a discussion on the issues, which was denied. The decision to move these motions was made during a meeting of the INDIA bloc’s floor leaders on June 27 at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence in New Delhi.
Congress MPs Ranjeet Ranjan and Gaurav Gogoi filed the adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha, while party lawmaker Syed Naseer Hussain did the same in Rajya Sabha.
Today, under the leadership of the Opposition, 22 MPs in Rajya Sabha have issued a notice under rule 267 demanding an immediate discussion on the NEET and NET scandals, which are destroying the lives of millions of youth across the country. There are many things that the government is hiding. Permission for discussion was denied, hence…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) June 28, 2024
The Lok Sabha session commenced with Speaker Om Birla offering obituary references to recently deceased members. Following the references, the Speaker emphasized the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.
Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi stated, “We wanted to convey a message from Parliament to the affected youth of the country that both the government and the opposition are concerned about you. This is why we demanded a discussion prior to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.”
After the initial adjournment until noon, the House reconvened, but the opposition MPs continued their protest, leading Speaker Om Birla to adjourn the House till Monday.
“There has never been any other discussion during the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address in the history of Parliament. Rest assured, the government will address all questions after the Motion of Thanks,” reassured Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, in Lok Sabha.
A similar situation unfolded in Rajya Sabha as well, with chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar adjourning the House amidst protests by INDIA bloc MPs demanding a discussion on NEET. However, the House resumed proceedings in the afternoon.
The NEET-UG exam, held on May 5 for medical college admissions, has been embroiled in controversy due to allegations of question paper leaks and irregularities. The exam results were announced on June 4, and on June 27, the CBI made its first arrests in the NEET-UG paper leak case, apprehending two individuals in Patna, Bihar.
