“Dharmendra Pradhan has taken moral responsibility for NEET issue”: BJP leader Shazia Ilmi

New Delhi [India], June 30 (ANI): Amid the ongoing row over the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shazia Ilmi on Sunday said that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has taken moral responsibility for the issue, adding that an investigation into the matter is being carried out.

“Investigation is being carried out in this matter and we need to hold serious deliberations instead of political stunts or playing a blame game. This is a serious issue and we see that the student community and their parents are affected because of this,” Ilmi said.

She further said that the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has taken moral responsibility for the issue.

“Dharmendra Pradhan has taken moral responsibility for the issue. Neither BJP nor anyone in the Central government is backing off from holding discussions on this issue. We are ready to talk about it and find a solution together,” she added.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the government is not “silent”, adding that the action has been taken against the accused and people are being arrested.

“We are not silent. We are taking action and the people are being arrested. Congress only talks, however, we do the work. They haven’t apologised even after 50 years of emergency imposed in India,” a BJP MP told ANI.

Earlier, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan asserted that new dates for the NEET-PG, which was cancelled as a “precautionary measure”, would be announced by Monday or Tuesday next week.

“New dates for NEET-PG will be announced by Monday-Tuesday”, Dharmendra Pradhan said.

Congress leader and party general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that the National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts all tests through private companies, adding that they will put forward their demands in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

The Congress leader demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, stating that this issue is not just about NEET but concerns all the institutions run by the Ministry of Education.

“In the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, we will put forward our demands regarding what this NTA (National Testing Agency) does. It conducts all tests through private companies. Where have the scams occurred? Bihar, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh are BJP-ruled states. There will be a discussion on this. Our Education Minister first says there is nothing, it is a minor matter. Later, they talk of a CBI investigation and form a high-level committee,” he told ANI.

“We are demanding the resignation of the Education Minister. This is not just about NEET; it is also about NET, UGC, and NCERT. It concerns all the institutions run by the Ministry of Education. NTA is also an institution under the Ministry of Education, yet it gets all the work done through private companies,” Jairam Ramesh added.

Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha witnessed several adjournments on Friday, with Congress and other opposition parties insisting on a debate on the NEET-UG row and the government keen to take up the motion of thanks on the President’s address.

On June 28, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested two more accused in the NEET-UG paper leak case.

“The duo, Dr Ehsaan Ul Haq and Imtiaz Alam were working as the principal and vice principal of the Oasis School in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh,” CBI sources said.

Notably, Haq was appointed the city coordinator by National Testing Agency for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG 2024).’

Earlier, the CBI arrested two people from Bihar’s Patna in connection with the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG exam.

The official said that while the accused, Ashutosh, was arranging safe house premises for the students, the other accused, Manish, used to take the candidates to a school to ‘prepare’ them for the exam.

“Manish Prakash transported the students in his car. While the students were accommodated in Ashutosh’s house,” the CBI officer pointed out.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on June 23 registered a criminal case over the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the NEET-UG and UGC-NET exams by the NTA and formed special teams to probe the matter.

As per the agency’s FIR, certain “isolated incidents” occurred in a few states during the conduct of the NEET (UG) 2024 examination, which was held on May 5.

The NEET (UG) 2024 Examination was conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 5, 2024, at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 cities abroad, with over 23 lakh candidates appearing for the examination.

An unprecedented 67 candidates achieved a perfect score of 720 marks out of 720, which led to widespread protests in the country.