I will be your voice in Parliament: Rahul Gandhi to students on NEET exam row

Congress MP-elect Rahul Gandhi hit out at Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi on Sunday over the NEET-UG medical entrance row, saying the alleged "irregularities" in the examination have devastated more than 24 lakh students even before he takes oath for a new term in office.

Gandhi assured students in the country that he would become their voice in Parliament and strongly raise the issues related to their future.

Amid allegations of inflation of marks in the NEET-UG medical entrance exam, the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced on Saturday that the education ministry had set up a four-member panel to review grace marks awarded to more than 1,500 candidates.

In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, "Narendra Modi has not even taken oath yet and the irregularities in the NEET exam have devastated more than 24 lakh students and their families."

Six students from a single exam centre topped the exam with maximum marks, while many received scores that are technically impossible, but the government is continuously denying the possibility of a paper leak, the former Congress president said.

He said the Congress had made a robust plan to deal with this 'paper leak industry' running in connivance with the education mafia and the government machinery. "We had pledged in our manifesto to give students 'freedom from paper leak' by making a law," he said. "Today, I assure all students of the country that I will become your voice in Parliament and strongly raise issues related to your future."

The youth have expressed faith in the INDIA bloc which will not let their voices be suppressed, Gandhi asserted.

The NTA has denied any irregularities and said the changes made in the NCERT textbooks and grace marks for losing time at the examination centres were some of the reasons behind the students scoring higher marks. The issue has taken a political turn, with several parties raising concerns about the authenticity of the national exam for medical courses.

The Congress on Friday demanded a high-level investigation under Supreme Court supervision into "irregularities" in NEET for medical courses, and accused the BJP of cheating youngsters and playing with their futures.