On Tuesday, Sonia Gandhi reached out to Mamata Banerjee and Uddhav Thackeray among other leaders
Highlights
- Uddhav Thackeray was speaking at a Chief Ministers' meet over exams
- Mamata Banerjee called the meet along with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi
- Meet is to evolve a united opposition to pressure Centre to delay exams
At a meeting called by Mamata Banerjee and Sonia Gandhi, opposition Chief Ministers today called for a united fight against the government's move to hold engineering and medical entrance exams in the middle of the coronavirus crisis. Chief Ministers decided to petition the Supreme Court again to request that the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) be deferred.
The Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Bengal, Punjab, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Puducherry decided on the move noting that even though the Supreme Court had rejected such a request once, it was worth petitioning the court to reconsider in the interest of students.
The Bengal Chief Minister said state governments were being "bulldozed" by the centre in the name of cooperative federalism. "Let us go to the Supreme Court. Let us talk about this matter. This is a mental agony for students. I have not seen so many atrocities in a democracy. The situation is very serious. We have to speak up for the children," Mamata Banerjee said.
The Chief Ministers discussed that since the exams start in a week, the next move would have to be fast.
The JEE is scheduled from September 1 to 6 and the NEET exam is to be held on September 13. The Supreme Court had last week rejected a petition by 11 students from 11 states asking for the exams to be deferred, saying: "Life cannot be stopped... Are students ready to waste one whole year?"
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren made an impassioned case for not having the exams now. He said both his parents were coronavirus positive.
"Exams must happen, but we are hurrying up. In my state we have very few centres. To accommodate these students, we will have to open all hotels and buses. Chances of contracting Covid will be higher. The Centre must help by taking more time. Otherwise, the Centre will blame states all over again if something goes wrong. We will have to jointly raise these issues," Mr Soren said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said: "We have to decide whether we want to fear or fight the government. The people who that elected the BJP at the centre also elected all of us. But if we do something it is paap (sin) and if they do anything then it is Punya (virtuous)?" He pointed out that while his state was gradually emerging from the lockdown, schools remained shut.
Chief Ministers said they need to "together fight Centre for undermining states'' rights.
Four Congress Chief Ministers, Amarinder Singh (Punjab), Bhupesh Baghel (Chhattisgarh), Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan) and V Narayanasamy (Puducherry), also attended the meeting.
Amarinder Singh said he had written to the PM three times to delay exams. "I endorse Mamata Banerjee's view that we should collectively approach the Supreme Court again," said Mr Singh.
Mr Soren suggested that before going to the Supreme Court, the Chief Ministers should meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. To which, Mamata Banerjee said: "We can meet the PM but if he does not listen then we must move the Supreme Court."
Sonia Gandhi, fresh out of a crisis over a "dissident" letter by a group of party leaders, called the meeting along with Mamata Banerjee in an attempt to evolve a united opposition response on the exams and on compensation to states who have reported a loss of revenue because of the pandemic ahead of a meeting of the GST council on Thursday.
"The refusal to compensate states on GST is nothing short of betrayal by the Modi government of states and the people," Sonia Gandhi said.
The interim Congress president reportedly wanted to invite Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan but there was strong opposition from the Congress in Kerala. An invite did go to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal but sources say he declined.
Other states like Tamil Nadu - ruled by BJP ally AIADMK -- have also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging that Class 12 marks be the basis for admission into medical colleges instead of entrance exams.
"This is not the right stage for exams. Asymptomatic cases and walk in for exams," Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan told NDTV.
The government has so far resisted growing calls for postponing JEE and NEET scheduled next month, saying the exams will be held with full precautions against the virus.