New Delhi [India], Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi raised the issue of alleged irregularities in the NEET exam in the Lok Sabha and demanded a separate one-day discussion on the issue in Parliament.
"A message is spread to the country, from Parliament. We want to send a message to students that the NEET issue is important for Parliament. So, to send this message, we want Parliament to discuss it," said the Congress leader.
Rahul Gandhi demanded one more day to debate the NEET issue.
Responding to this, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said, "You can give your suggestions, but I decide."
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh responded to Rahul Gandhi's demand and said that any discussion should be held only after the motion of thanks for the President's speech.
"Parliament procedures are carried out according to some rules and traditions. I request the opposition that any discussion be held only after the motion of thanks for the president's speech," he said.
However, opposition MPs walk out of Lok Sabha as the Speaker rejects Rahul Gandhi's suggestion of holding a one-day debate on NEET.
The NEET UG exam was conducted by the National Testing Agency on May 5 at 4,750 centers in 571 cities in the country and 14 cities abroad with 23 lakh candidates appearing for the exam.
The results were declared on June 4, which immediately caused an uproar among aspirants who raised multiple issues. An unprecedented 67 candidates achieved a perfect score of 720 out of 720, sparking widespread protests across the country.
The Supreme Court ruled that "grace marks" awarded to some students should be removed and gave affected candidates the option of retaking a test or retaining their original scores, excluding grace marks.
Meanwhile, amid opposition protests in Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla dismissed the allegation by some MPs that the Speaker switched off the microphone.
"Outside the House, some deputies claim that the president turns off the microphone. Control of the microphone is not in the hands of whoever holds the presidency," he said.
Earlier, members of opposition parties staged a protest on the Parliament premises on Monday against the central government's "misuse" of central agencies including the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI).
Opposition MPs including Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor of Congress, KC Venugopal, Manish Tewari, K Suresh, Varsha Gaikwad, Benny Behnan, Anto Antony, Jose K Mani of Kerala Congress (M) , Aam Aadmi Party's Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha, TMC MP Sagarika Ghosh, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi and CPI(M)'s John Brittas, among others, participated in the protest.
The leaders were seen carrying banners and posters reading "Respect the opposition, stop intimidation!", "Stop misusing agencies to silence the opposition", "End the reigns of fear, stop the misuse of ED, IT and CBI”, “Bhaajpa mei jaao bhrashtachar ka license pao”. ..."
Opposition parties have been attacking the central government alleging misuse of central agencies "to silence" the opposition. The arrests of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Ministers, former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and TMC Ministers by ED and CBI in several cases sparked criticism from many quarters.
"A message is spread to the country, from Parliament. We want to send a message to students that the NEET issue is important for Parliament. So, to send this message, we want Parliament to discuss it," said the Congress leader.
Rahul Gandhi demanded one more day to debate the NEET issue.
Responding to this, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said, "You can give your suggestions, but I decide."
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh responded to Rahul Gandhi's demand and said that any discussion should be held only after the motion of thanks for the President's speech.
"Parliament procedures are carried out according to some rules and traditions. I request the opposition that any discussion be held only after the motion of thanks for the president's speech," he said.
However, opposition MPs walk out of Lok Sabha as the Speaker rejects Rahul Gandhi's suggestion of holding a one-day debate on NEET.
The NEET UG exam was conducted by the National Testing Agency on May 5 at 4,750 centers in 571 cities in the country and 14 cities abroad with 23 lakh candidates appearing for the exam.
The results were declared on June 4, which immediately caused an uproar among aspirants who raised multiple issues. An unprecedented 67 candidates achieved a perfect score of 720 out of 720, sparking widespread protests across the country.
The Supreme Court ruled that "grace marks" awarded to some students should be removed and gave affected candidates the option of retaking a test or retaining their original scores, excluding grace marks.
Meanwhile, amid opposition protests in Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla dismissed the allegation by some MPs that the Speaker switched off the microphone.
"Outside the House, some deputies claim that the president turns off the microphone. Control of the microphone is not in the hands of whoever holds the presidency," he said.
Earlier, members of opposition parties staged a protest on the Parliament premises on Monday against the central government's "misuse" of central agencies including the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI).
Opposition MPs including Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor of Congress, KC Venugopal, Manish Tewari, K Suresh, Varsha Gaikwad, Benny Behnan, Anto Antony, Jose K Mani of Kerala Congress (M) , Aam Aadmi Party's Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha, TMC MP Sagarika Ghosh, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi and CPI(M)'s John Brittas, among others, participated in the protest.
The leaders were seen carrying banners and posters reading "Respect the opposition, stop intimidation!", "Stop misusing agencies to silence the opposition", "End the reigns of fear, stop the misuse of ED, IT and CBI”, “Bhaajpa mei jaao bhrashtachar ka license pao”. ..."
Opposition parties have been attacking the central government alleging misuse of central agencies "to silence" the opposition. The arrests of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Ministers, former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and TMC Ministers by ED and CBI in several cases sparked criticism from many quarters.