NEET row: Pradhan welcomes SC’s decision, demands apology from opposition
Dharmendra Pradhan also announced that the revised results of students in accordance with the Supreme Court’s rulings will be announced within two days
New Delhi: Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday hailed the Supreme Court’s decision on the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) row and said that the opposition should apologise to the students and parents of the country for “misleading” them.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the pleas seeking cancellation and re-test of the controversy-ridden 2024 NEET-UG, holding that there was no evidence on record to conclude that the sanctity of the exam has been violated. Refusing to order a re-test, the top court said that the data on record is not indicative of a “systemic leak” of the question paper.
Speaking to the media, Pradhan welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision and said that the “truth has prevailed”. “We have been saying this from the beginning that our priority is students of this country. The government’s priority has always been to see that there should be no tampering with students’ futures. For the last 2-2.5 months, the government’s stand has been that there has not been any large-scale breach. Today, the Supreme Court has upheld that in its final judgment. I want to express my gratitude to the Supreme Court,” he said.
Also Read: Supreme Court on NEET: ‘Data not indicative of systemic leak’
The education minister also slammed Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader and the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, for calling the country’s examination system “rubbish”, and said he and the opposition should apologise to the students and parents of the country.
“When the NEET matter came to light, the Opposition’s role became clear after the Supreme Court’s judgment today. The attitude that the Lok Sabha LoP had adopted until yesterday, invalidating the examination system of the country and calling it “rubbish” proves his mental status…Criticising this, Rahul Gandhi ji has criticised India.” he said.
“Misleading the students of the country, creating confusion and provoking them for social tensions were all planned as part of his politics. By rejecting the electoral results in the country, anarchy and civil unrest have become a part of his strategy. I appeal to him and all people of the Opposition who were involved in such irresponsible actions that they should apologise to the students, youth and parents of the country. You have hurt the country, attempted to create anarchy in the country, and conspired to have civil unrest in the country. The country will not forgive you. Political rivalry can be different, but students belong to everyone,” he said.
Pradhan said that the government’s major concern was the students from the weaker sections of the society, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and rural students, and the apex court also took that into account while pronouncing its decision.
“For us, zero tolerance of any kind of breach is our priority when it comes to exams for students - be it for higher education or jobs. Therefore, the Modi Government has brought into effect a strict law like The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act,” he said.
Pradhan said that the government has promised the Supreme Court that it will be committed to having a transparent, tamper-free and zero-error examination system. “Taking this commitment forward, we announced a high-level committee for a complete revamp of NTA. That committee is working dedicatedly. The committee has collected expert opinions and studied various models...They will submit a report soon,” he said.
Also Read: NEET-UG 2024 hearing: 5 reasons why Supreme Court refused to cancel examination
The education ministry had last month formed a seven-member committee, headed by K Radhakrishnan, to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations through the National Testing Agency (NTA).
“I would like to assure the youth and students of the country that we are committed to making the NTA an error-free organization. In this process, all those involved in these irregularities will not be spared,” the education minister said.
He also assured that anyone who has been found guilty in the entire NEET-UG issue will not be spared and strict action will be taken against them. “If anybody is found involved in exam irregularities, they will not be spared. Zero tolerance for any kind of breach; the sanctity of exams supreme for us,” Pradhan said.