NEW DELHI, June 19: The Congress party announced it will hold protests at all state headquarters on Friday, demanding justice for students affected by the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024 exam. In a letter addressed to state unit chiefs, legislature party leaders, state incharges, general secretaries, and other top functionaries, Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal emphasized the urgent need to address the numerous complaints and concerns surrounding the conduct and results of NEET-UG 2024.
Venugopal pointed out that the National Testing Agency (NTA) released the NEET-UG 2024 results on June 4, 2024, which have since been marred by allegations of irregularities and paper leaks, particularly due to the suspiciously high marks of some aspirants. He highlighted significant concerns over inflated scores and the awarding of grace marks without a transparent methodology, which has further fueled doubts about the exam’s credibility.
Venugopal stated that the examination faced technical glitches, malpractice, and unfair practices at certain test centers. He noted that arrests in Bihar, Gujarat, and Haryana have exposed a pattern of organized corruption, particularly in BJP-ruled states. The Supreme Court has also underscored the seriousness of these allegations, demanding zero tolerance for negligence.
“Such irregularities undermine the credibility of the examination process and jeopardize the future of countless dedicated students,” Venugopal wrote. He reiterated the Congress party’s commitment to securing the future of the youth by enforcing strict laws against paper leaks, as promised in their manifesto.
In light of the massive corruption and irregularities in the NEET examination and the NDA government’s inaction, all Pradesh Congress Committees are urged to hold large-scale protests at state headquarters on Friday, June 21, 2024, to demand justice for the affected students. Venugopal’s letter emphasized that these demonstrations should involve senior leaders and party functionaries.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday emphasized that even minimal negligence in the conduct of the NEET-UG 2024 examination should be thoroughly addressed. Acknowledging the hard work students put into preparing for these exams, the apex court asserted that litigation related to the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate)-2024 should not be treated as adversarial.
The Centre and the NTA informed the Supreme Court on June 13 that they had cancelled the grace marks given to 1,563 candidates, offering them the option to retake the test or forgo the compensatory marks awarded due to time loss. The NEET-UG examination, held on May 5 across 4,750 centers, saw the participation of around 24 lakh candidates. While results were anticipated on June 14, they were announced earlier on June 4 due to the completion of answer sheet evaluations.
There have been multiple allegations of question paper leaks in states like Bihar and other irregularities in the prestigious exam, prompting protests in several cities and legal petitions in various high courts and the Supreme Court. On June 10, scores of students protested in Delhi, demanding an investigation into the alleged irregularities.
A record 67 students achieved a perfect score of 720, an unprecedented occurrence in the NTA’s history, with six students from a single center in Faridabad, Haryana, raising suspicions of malpractice. It has been suggested that the grace marks contributed to this unusually high number of top scorers.
The NEET-UG examination, conducted by the NTA, is crucial for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses in government and private institutions across India.
