NEET Exam Row: NSUI workers, the Congress' student wing, briefly stormed into the NTA's Delhi office.
A 100-strong mob of workers from the NSUI, or National Students Union of India - the Congress' student wing - barged into and briefly took over the Delhi office of the National Testing Agency, the central body under scrutiny over question paper leaks and other irregularities in this year's NEET-UG exams.
There is now a heavy police presence at the NTA office in Delhi's Okhla area.
Early visuals showed a crowd marching down a tree-lined avenue and into the NTA building, shouting and screaming as they charge inside. One video shows a metal padlock on a door - presumably the front door - with a poster declaring "no more corrupt NTA" attached. Photographs from inside the building show protesters gathering at a courtyard with more posters denouncing the NTA.
Meanwhile, in other videos protesters are shouting "NTA bandh karo, bandh karo".
Shortly after storming the building the protesters left.
The student wing's protest came hours after the Congress' youth wing, the Indian Youth Congress, protested near Parliament as President Droupadi Murmu addressed a joint session. On the NEET exam row, she said the government is "committed to a fair investigation" of the entire issue.
READ | Youth Congress Workers Detained Near Parliament Amid NEET Protest
NEET Exam Row
Controversy over the NEET exam - nearly 24 lakh students took the May 5 qualifying exam for entrance to medical courses - broke this month after results were declared.
The first red flags were the unusually high number of perfect scores; a record 67 students, including six from one coaching centre, scored a maximum 720 in the uber-competitive exam. Questions were also asked over the award of 'grace marks' - not exam protocol, the NTA said - to 1, 563 students.
After a flurry of arrests by police forces - from Bihar, Maharashtra, and Delhi - the CBI has taken over the investigation. Agency sources told NDTV a nationwide corruption racket may be involved. Today the agency made its first arrests.
READ | CBI Makes First Arrests In Bihar In NEET-UG Paper Leak Case
CBI sources said one accused - Manish Kumar - facilitated the transport of students to an empty school where they were given the leaked question paper to commit to memory, while the other - Ashutosh - provided lodging.
Supreme Court Notice To NTA
The Supreme Court this afternoon issued a notice to the exam body after a petition claimed the May NEET-UG exam had been rigged. The court directed the NTA to respond by July 8.
READ | Supreme Court Notice To Exam Body Over NEET-UG Row
The petitioners, represented by a coaching centre and other students, argued for students' right to access their Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets.
The two-judge bench - Justice Manoj Mishra and Justice SVN Bhatti - presiding over the case, questioned the fundamental rights allegedly violated by the NTA's actions.
Political War Over Exam Row
The NEET (and UGC-NET) exam row has meant the ruling BJP and the Congress-led opposition have gone head-to-head in the early days of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term - over allegations of leaked question papers, preferential marking, and criminals running 'solver gangs'.
READ | "NEET" Chants In Parliament As Education Minister Takes Oath
On Monday opposition benches heckled Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan - shouting "NEET" and "shame" - as he took his MP's oath. Mr Pradhan has said the government is taking the issue of leaked question papers seriously and has formed a high-level investigative committee.
Political Blame Game
The sordid scenario took a predictable political twist too, with members of the opposition - particularly the Congress-led INDIA bloc - targeting the ruling BJP. The government hit back by claiming connections between ex-Bihar Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, whose RJD is part of the INDIA group, and Yadavendu. The RJD denied the claim and accused the BJP of trying to shift focus.
READ | In NEET Row, BJP, RJD Trade Claims Of 'Link' To Key Accused
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called BJP-ruled states the "epicentre of paper leak"; the reference was to cops busting a massive paper leak racket for the Uttar Pradesh Police Constable exam.
The government has, meanwhile, operationalised a stringent law that aims to curb malpractices and irregularities in competitive examinations. A maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore for offenders are some of the tough measures under the law.
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