Budget session: Education minister Pradhan must go, says Oppn

On the opening day of the Budget session of Parliament, the INDIA bloc, led by Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, pulled up the Modi government over the NEET paper leak scandal — and called for the education minister to show accountability and step down.

Gandhi stated his belief that education minister Dharmendra Pradhan does not really understand the "fundamentals of the issue", while Yadav held that students cannot receive justice as long as Pradhan remains in charge of the education ministry. Both called for the education minister's resignation.

"It is evident to everyone that there is a significant problem with our examination system, affecting not just NEET but all major exams. The minister has blamed everyone but himself. I doubt he even grasps the fundamental issues at play," said Gandhi.

"The issue at hand is that millions of students in the country are deeply concerned and believe that the Indian examination system is compromised. There is a widespread perception that wealth can influence and manipulate the system. This sentiment is also shared by many in the Opposition," he added.

Former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and Samajwadi party leader Akhilesh Yadav said, "Students nationwide are protesting, investigations are revealing more, and arrests are being made. My only submission is that students will not receive justice as long as this minister remains in office".

Pradhan did make a valiant attempt to defend himself, arguing, "A lie will not become truth just by shouting. The fact that the Leader of Opposition says that the country's examination system is rubbish is highly condemnable."

However, he only opened himself up for further mockery when he added, "The NTA has conducted more than 240 exams and there is no evidence of paper leak in the past seven years." After all, as recently as May, the NTA had also sworn till it was virtually blue in the face that the papers had not in fact been leaked even this year—a claim no one seems to be buying at the minute, perhaps not even those ostensibly defending the NTA in court.

The NEET paper leak issue was raised in Parliament even as the Supreme Court began hearing a batch of petitions related to the controversial medical entrance exam today, 22 July.

During the hearing, the counsel for the NEET-UG aspirants who are petitioning the apex court highlighted that the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the prestigious exam, had admitted to the paper leak and the dissemination of the leaked question paper via WhatsApp.

The Supreme Court bench, which includes Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, asked counsel for both parties about the results that emerged from the centre-wise and city-wise declarations of exam results too — and thereby hangs another sorry tale that should leave the education minister red in the face.