NEET scam: PM Modi silent on 'Vyapam 2.0', says Congress

Sharpening its attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress party on Friday, 14 June, labelled the NEET scam 'Vyapam 2.0'.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera accused the NDA government of evading responsibility and criticised the National Testing Agency (NTA) for attempting to cover up the issue in court.

Khera condemned the NTA's alleged efforts to minimise the gravity of the scam by granting grace marks to medical and engineering students affected by the time lost during the investigation.

"Now think to what level this government can stoop to cover up this matter," he said. "The name is NEET, but looking at the result, this process does not seem to be 'clean' or 'healthy' at all."

Khera added: "It is also unfortunate that today, be it the railway minister, education minister, home minister or the prime minister... no one wants to take accountability.

"During the UPA regime, resignations were handed in merely on the basis of allegations. Today, the minister smilingly accuses the citizens of the country that this is a 'motivated protest'."

Khera said that the NEET 2024 exam, which determines the future of 24 lakh young people, has been compromised.

"In the last eight years, only seven students scored full marks, but this year, 67 students achieved full marks. The education minister has no answer to this anomaly.

"When the police in Bihar caught individuals involved in a paper leak and a similar case emerged in Godhra, Gujarat, the scam came to light," he said.

The Congress party has outlined today several demands to ensure transparency and accountability going forward:

1. Release the names of the examination centres wherever students scored more than 580 marks

2. Match the 12th standard board marks for NEET toppers to verify consistency of performance

3. Release video recordings from exam centres where candidates scored significantly higher than the average

4. Provide a list of all students who changed their exam centres, exploiting the window offered for such changes

As protests against the NEET scam escalate, the Congress will continue questioning the Prime Minister's silence on the issue, calling for immediate action and accountability from the government, the party spokesperson made clear.