Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's Swipe At Tejashwi Yadav Amid NEET Row

Union Minister and Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) Chief Jitan Ram Manjhi on Monday attacked the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) amid the ongoing row over the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)-UG row, claiming that the latter is behind the irregularities in the medical examination.

"Chor machaye shor. Har cheez ke gunahgaar woh (RJD) hain. (The thief himself is protesting. The RJD is behind all the irregularities in the exams)", Mr Manjhi told ANI in Delhi.

The Union Minister's remarks follow Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Vijay Sinha's allegations against RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav in which he said that Tejashwi's secretary, Pritam Kumar had called a guest house worker of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to book a room for Sikander Kumar Yadavendu, one of the accused in the matter of irregularities in the NEET exam.

He said that the word "Mantri" was used for the former Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav.

"On May 1, Tejashwi Yadav's secretary Pritam Kumar called guesthouse worker Pradip Kumar to book a room for Sikander Kumar Yadavendu who was jailed in Ranchi. On May 4, Pritam Kumar called Pradip Kumar again to book the room in the NHAI guest house. The word 'Mantri' was used for Tejashwi Yadav," Mr Sinha earlier said.

Meanwhile, Jitan Ram Manjhi said that the judiciary is doing its job relating to the case of NEET exams.

"The judiciary is doing its job. Let the judiciary deliver its verdict", he said.

As the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha commenced on Monday, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan faced criticism from Opposition MPs.

The Opposition shouted "NEET" as Dharmendra Pradhan took his oath as a Member of Parliament.

The NTA, which conducted the NEET-UG exams, is facing criticism over alleged irregularities in the exams. This resulted in several protests across the country, with protestors and political parties demanding to disband the NTA. An unprecedented 67 candidates achieved a perfect score of 720 marks out of 720, which added to the concerns.

Earlier, the Ministry of Education constituted a high-level committee of experts to make recommendations on reforms in the mechanism of the examination process, improvements in data security protocols and the functioning of the NTA.

The 7-member committee, led by ISRO former chairman Dr. K. Radhakrishnan, will submit its report to the ministry in the next two months.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)