Parliament adjourned till Monday amid uproar over discussion on NEET
What's the story
Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned on Friday till Monday after uproar from opposition leaders seeking a discussion on alleged irregularities in NEET-UG examinations and criticism of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts these exams. MPs from various opposition parties, including the Congress, had submitted adjournment motions for debate on these issues in both Houses. Their demand was turned down.
Motion initiation
Opposition MPs demand discussion on NEET-UG irregularities
The decision to move these motions was taken at a meeting of the floor leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance on Thursday at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's Delhi residence. Congress MPs Ranjeet Ranjan and Gaurav Gogoi moved the adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha while the party's Syed Naseer Hussain moved the motion in Rajya Sabha.
Session proceedings
Speaker insists Motion of Thanks to be discussed first
The Lok Sabha session commenced with Speaker Om Birla reading out obituary references to recently deceased members of the House. Following these tributes, the speaker insisted that the Motion of Thanks to President's Address be discussed first, leading to an initial adjournment till noon. However, continued protests by opposition MPs resulted in a further adjournment until Monday.
LoP's statement
Wanted to send message from Parliament to youth: Gandhi
Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said, "We wanted to send out a message from Parliament to the affected youth of the country that the government and the opposition are concerned about you. That is why we had demanded a discussion before we could discuss the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address."
Minister's assurance
All questions on NEET-UG controversy to be answered: Rijiju
Similar scenes unfolded in Rajya Sabha as well, with Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar adjourning proceedings amid demands for a NEET discussion by INDIA bloc MPs. Meanwhile, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, assured that all questions regarding the NEET-UG controversy would be answered but only after the Motion of Thanks to President's address.
Background
Controversy over NEET paper leak
The NEET-UG exam, conducted on May 5 for medical college admissions, has been marred by controversy over alleged question paper leaks and irregularities. The results were announced on June 4—around 10 days before schedule. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the irregularities. On Thursday, the CBI made its first arrest in the NEET-UG paper leak case by detaining two individuals in Patna, Bihar.