New Delhi: A mob of approximately 100 workers from the National Students Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress, stormed the Delhi office of the National Testing Agency (NTA). The NTA, responsible for conducting the NEET medical entrance exams, is currently under scrutiny due to question paper leaks and other irregularities.
Visuals from outside the NTA office showed a crowd marching down a tree-lined avenue and into the building, shouting and screaming as they charged inside. One video depicted a metal padlock on the front door with a poster reading "no more corrupt NTA" attached. Photographs from within the building showed protesters gathering in a courtyard, displaying more posters denouncing the NTA. In other videos, protesters could be heard shouting "NTA bandh karo, bandh karo" (shut down the NTA).
The student wing's protest followed a demonstration by the Indian Youth Congress, the Congress' youth wing, near Parliament as President Droupadi Murmu addressed a joint session. Regarding the NEET exam controversy, she stated that the government is "committed to a fair investigation" of the issue.
The controversy over the NEET exam, taken by nearly 24 lakh students on May 5 for entrance to medical courses, emerged after the results were declared. Red flags were raised by the unusually high number of perfect scores, with a record 67 students, including six from one coaching centre, scoring a maximum of 720 in the highly competitive exam. Questions also arose over the awarding of 'grace marks' to 1,563 students, which the NTA claimed was not exam protocol.
Following a series of arrests by police forces in Bihar, Maharashtra, and Delhi, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken over the investigation. CBI sources indicated that a nationwide corruption racket might be involved. Earlier today, the federal agency made its first arrests, detaining Manish Kumar and Ashutosh. According to CBI sources, Kumar facilitated the transport of students to an empty school where they were given the leaked question paper to memorize, while Ashutosh provided lodging.
The NEET and UGC-NET exam controversies have led to a clash between the ruling BJP and the Congress-led opposition in the early days of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term. Allegations of leaked question papers, preferential marking, and criminal 'solver gangs' have been at the forefront of the dispute.
On Monday, opposition benches heckled Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, shouting "NEET" and "shame," as he took his MP's oath. Mr. Pradhan has stated that the government is taking the issue of leaked question papers seriously and has formed a high-level investigative committee.
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