NEET exam row: Congress seeks answers to specific questions

Congress on Friday stepped up its attack on the government over the NEET exam issue and asked if no paper leak had taken place, as claimed by the ruling establishment, why were 13 people arrested from Bihar and why was an 'exam mafia' busted in Gujarat. Accusing the Centre of attempting a cover-up and questioning the silence of the prime minister on the issue, the Congress leadership claimed the involvement of Gujarat and Bihar-based coaching centres and the "exam mafia" in the paper leak. They demanded that NTA make public the lists of top scorers, the coaching centres they were associated with and whether many of them had opted for examination centres far off from their home states by making use of a special window provided to choose the examination centres.

"If the paper was not leaked in the NEET exam, then why were 13 people arrested in Bihar for alleged paper leak? Did the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of the Patna police not expose the payment of ₹30 lakh-50 lakh to the education mafia and organised gangs involved in the racket in exchange for papers? Has the NEET-UG cheating racket not been busted in Godhra, Gujarat," asked Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said: "Can the education minister deny that a NEET-UG cheating racket has been busted in Gujarat's Godhra involving three people, including a person who runs a coaching centre, a teacher and another person, wherein the investigation in the case has revealed transaction worth over ₹12 crore between students, their parents and the accused?... Is it not a fact that this year, in 2024, there were 67 toppers who were given a perfect score of 720, while in 2023, the number was just two. Is it not true that this year saw an abnormal increase in the students getting scores above 690?"