New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the Modi-led central government over the NEET issue and UGC-NET exam cancellation and alleged that the reason behind "paper leaks" is that all the Vice Chancellors, the education system has been captured by the Bharatiya Janata Party's "parent organisation" (RSS).
"I have spoken about institutional capture in various organizations. This is happening in the education institutions. The reason behind paper leaks is that all the Vice Chancellors, the education system has been captured by the BJP and it's parent organisation (RSS)," Rahul Gandhi said in a press conference on Thursday.
Rahul Gandhi said that paper leaks could continue till this "institutional capture" of education institutions by the BJP is not reversed.
"Till the time this is not reversed, paper leaks will go on. Modi has facilitated this capture. This is an anti-national activity because this is the future of the country and the youth of the country are facing the brunt of it," the Congress MP said.
"It is a national crisis, it's an economic crisis, it's an educational crisis, institutional crisis. But I don't see any response...Regarding Bihar, we have said that there should be an inquiry and action should be taken against those who have leaked the paper," he added.
When asked whether he thinks that Centre is unconcerned with the paper leaks, Rahul Gandhi said, "Silence (of government) is because the PM is crippled. Right now, the PM's main agenda is the (election of) Speaker. He is bothered about his govt and Speaker...The PM has psychologically collapsed and he will struggle to run a government like this. Mr Modi's idea of running govt is to generate fear in people. But now people are not scared of him. The basic concept of Modi has been destroyed in this election. If there were Vajpayee ji or Manmohan Singh ji, they might have been able to survive because they had humility, respect and conciliation. But Narendra Modi doesn't believe in all this."
Amid the massive row surrounding the cancellation of the UGC-NET exam, the Education Ministry has said that the test was scrapped because its integrity may have been compromised and has emphasised that it won't hesitate to take action against anyone.
Taking a dig at the Prime Minister for using the stopping of the Ukraine war for the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, Rahul Gandhi said that though it was allegedly said by BJP supporters that PM Modi had stopped the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel and Gaza war, he has failed to stop paper leaks or does not want to stop them.
"It was being said that PM Narendra Modi had stopped the Russia-Ukraine war, Israel and Gaza war. But due to some reasons, Narendra Modi has not been able to stop or doesn't want to stop paper leaks in India," Rahul Gandhi said.
Highlighting the difficulties faced by students, Rahul Gandhi said, "The students have to face the brunt of it. Students study hard for months, years for these exams. This is your future. And they (BJP) are playing with your future."
Hitting out at Centre, Rahul Gandhi said, "In Madhya Pradesh, Vyapam (scam) took place and now Narendra Modi is trying to spread this Vyapam throughout the country."
Rahul Gandhi said that during his conversations with youths during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, the youths shared their grievances about rampant paper leaks in the country.
"During the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, we went from Manipur to Maharashtra and on the way, thousands of youths complained that there were non-stop paper leaks in the country. All of you net that papers of NEET and UGC-NET have been leaked and one of them has been cancelled," he said.
The Congress labelled the Modi government as "paper leak government" and asked whether the education minister would take responsibility now.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge also slammed the government over the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET, and asked when will Prime Minister Narendra Modi hold "NEET pareeksha pe charcha".
The NEET-UG 2024 exam was conducted on May 5 and the results were declared on June 4, ahead of its scheduled announcement date of June 14. Protests were held alleging irregularities and paper leaks as the results showed that as many as 67 students had topped the exam with a perfect score of 720.
The NEET-UG examination, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), paves the way for admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.
The Ministry of Education on Wednesday cancelled the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) exam conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on June 18.
A fresh examination shall be conducted, for which information shall be shared separately.On June 19, 2
