Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram urged the central government to abolish all-India exams like NEET-UG, advocating for state control over medical college admissions. Amid NEET-UG 2024 cheating controversies, he called for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation due to system leaks.
New Delhi: Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)-UG exam 2024, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP P. Chidambaram emphasized that the central government should relinquish control over nationwide examinations.
He argued that states should regain the authority to conduct medical college entrance exams.
The NEET-UG exam, conducted on May 5, 2024, faced allegations of cheating and impersonation.
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Chidambaram stated,
“NEET is a scandal, and we have highlighted this issue for the past 3-4 years. Tamil Nadu has passed a resolution demanding exemption from NEET. Each state should have the right to conduct its own entrance exams for state-run colleges. National-level exams are prone to scandals.”
Highlighting the vast scale of the country and the large number of candidates taking the examination, he argued that the government should abandon the national examination format and restrict it to central government institutions only.
He stated,
“This country is too large, with too many candidates writing the examination, and too many individuals looking to exploit the system. The government should discontinue the all-India examination and confine it to central government institutions, excluding the states,”
Additionally, Chidambaram called for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, insisting that Pradhan should accept moral responsibility for the issues within the system.
The Congress MP added,
“Dharmendra Pradhan should resign and take moral responsibility for the flaws and leaks in the system,”
The National Testing Agency (NTA), which organized the exam, has come under intense scrutiny and criticism, resulting in numerous protests and legal challenges.
The central government tasked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) with the issue. Thus far, the CBI’s investigation led to the arrest of more than a dozen suspects, each accused of involvement in the leak and distribution of the NEET exam papers.
Concurrently, Congress MP P Chidambaram addressed the new criminal laws that took effect on July 1. He asserted that 90-95% of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) directly copied, as well as 95-99% of the Indian Evidence Act.
He remarked.
“I have posed around 40 questions, and none have been answered. If 90-95% of the IPC and the CrPC, and 95-99% of the Indian Evidence Act have been directly copied, why not amend the laws instead of rewriting and renumbering every section? This has only caused confusion,”
Congress MP P. Chidambaram announced that the Congress’ Legal and Human Rights Department plans to organize a conclave on the new criminal laws by the end of the month.
He stated,
“Lawyers across India are protesting and planning a strike in lower courts in Delhi tomorrow. A DMK lawyers’ protest meeting is set for July 20. Our Legal and Human Rights Department aims to hold a conclave on these issues by the end of the month,”
The new criminal laws Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Sanhita came into effect at midnight on July 1, having been passed in Parliament during last year’s Winter Session. The Opposition has criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for suspending over 140 MPs from Parliament. These new laws intended to replace the Indian Penal Code of 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872.
Chidambaram also addressed the BJP’s allegation that Rahul Gandhi insulted the Hindu community during his recent parliamentary address.
He dismissed the claim as “complete rubbish,” stating,
“The majority of people in this country, around 80%, are Hindus. However, we do not flaunt our Hindu identity to oppress minorities. We can coexist with Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and other communities. The BJP’s flaw is its belief that India should be a Hindu nation, with only Hindu laws prevailing. The majority of Indians do not support this view, as evidenced by the recent Lok Sabha elections.”
Chidambaram accused the BJP of running an explicit anti-Muslim campaign.
He said,
“They campaign on an anti-Muslim platform. The Prime Minister’s speeches frequently target Muslims, labelling them as infiltrators, accusing them of having more children, and claiming Congress would favour Muslims economically. Despite this, 70% of voters did not support the BJP. This shows that one can be a devout Hindu without using Hinduism to target others,”
He further emphasized that the Congress Party is not opposed to Hindus or Hinduism but advocates for a secular nation.
Chidambaram affirmed,
“The BJP harbours guilt. Many BJP MPs disagree with Mr. Modi’s stance. The Congress Party is not against Hindus or Hinduism. We want India to remain a secular country,”
During a Lok Sabha debate on the motion of thanks to President Droupadi Murmu‘s address, Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP and RSS of inciting violence and hatred, which prompted a strong response from the BJP.