Amid uproar by the Opposition over the discussion on the alleged irregularities in NEET, the Rajya Sabha witnessed repeated adjournments on Friday. In Lok Sabha too, the issue was brought up by the Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi.
The Opposition started sloganeering and staged a walkout a few hours into the session. Expressing anguish over the tensions prevailing in the House, Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankar said it was “unbelievable” that the Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge entered the Well of the House to protest.
“It was shocking and hurtful,” said Dhankar. "It was very painful and, unbelievable for me...that Kharge, a leader with Parliamentary experience of over five decades, having held the position of Leader of Opposition both in the state and in Parliament walking into the Well of the House," he added.
"The deputy leader of the party Pramod Tiwari also walked in, and senior leader Mukul Wasnik also walked in. It was a very painful moment for me. We expect the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the House to exemplify their conduct that is worth emulating," Dhankhar said.
The Opposition staged a walkout for the second time after the matters raised by them were not addressed.
The Rajya Sabha Chairman said, "He (Kharge) came to the Well the entire House saw. But what is more painful, hurtful for me, is that he has outside, misreported, misrepresented and has spoken untruth... He is in denial mode and his statement which has been put on Twitter (now X) ... is self-contradictory."
After multiple adjournments, when the House re-assembled at 2 pm, a discussion on the Motions of Thanks on the President's Address took place amid a walkout by the Opposition.
Reacting to the mode of protest, Kharge said that he was left with no choice because Dhankar had been ignoring him to "insult him".
"This is actually the Chairman's fault. I observed parliamentary rules and raised my hand for 10 minutes, but he did not look at me. That's when I had to go in to attract his attention but he still did not look at me. When all the members came (into the well), I walked out, I did not even stay there. I tried to attract his attention, but he was only looking towards the treasury benches. When I raised my hand, he should have looked at me according to the rules, but he did what he did to ignore and insult me," Kharge was quoted by NDTV.
Rahul’s assurance to NEET students
LoP in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, assured the students on Friday that the INDIA bloc is committed to engaging in debate with the Narendra Modi government over the NEET exam row.
While addressing the students through a video message, Gandhi said there has been a "disaster" concerning NEET. "Everyone knows the paper was leaked, resulting in people making thousands of crores of rupees, and causing harm and damage to students," he said.
"We are committed to having that discussion peacefully in a very accommodating matter. I tried to raise it in Parliament, but I wasn't allowed to speak. This is an issue that has affected two crore students seventy times in seven years," he added.
The Congress has also alleged that Rahul’s mic was muted for raising the NEET issue. “Not allowed to speak in Parliament on NEET issue over PM’s directive,” Rahul had said.
Meanwhile, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the central government is ready for discussion on the NEET paper leak issue, provided the discussions are done while maintaining the decorum of the Parliament.
“The government wants to assure the students and people of the country that strict action is being taken. Everyone involved in the scam will be punished. The CBI has taken charge of this," he said.
He urged the Opposition not to politicise the matter and to join the discussion impartially.