'On PM's advice', Rahul Gandhi alleges Opposition blocked from raising NEET issue in Parliament

Asserting the INDIA bloc wants a constructive debate on the NEET issue, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday said it is unfortunate that they were not allowed to raise it in the Parliament.  In a video message shared from his 'X' handle, Gandhi urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to debate the issue and give the students the respect they deserve.  "The INDIA Opposition bloc wants to have a constructive debate with the Government on the NEET exam and the prevailing paper leak issue. It is unfortunate that we weren’t allowed to do so in Parliament today. This is a serious concern that is causing anxiety to lakhs of families across India," the Congress leader said.

"We urge the Prime Minister to debate on this issue and give the students the respect they deserve," he said.  In the video, Gandhi said the message is for all the students, who gave the NEET exam or any other exam, and said that the opposition wanted to discuss the issue but was not allowed to do so by the government.

Gandhi said the INDIA bloc parties had unanimously decided to raise the issue on Friday.  "There was a unanimous agreement among all opposition parties that yes, a one day discussion on NEET is required and we are committed to having that discussion peacefully in a very very accommodating manner. I tried to raise it in Parliament, of course I was not allowed to speak. This is an issue that has affected two crore students," he said.

The Leader of Opposition said that 70 papers have been leaked in the last seven years.  "It is clear there is a systemic problem. It is clear there is a huge amount of corruption and we simply cannot continue like this," Gandhi said.  "Also the students want a resolution quickly. The idea behind the discussion was to get a resolution to this issue. It is unfortunate the government didn't want it. It seemed to me the direction was directly from the Prime Minister." "It is sad the Prime Minister of India, who should be leading the discussion and should be telling us about his opinion and what he is going to do, simply doesn't want a debate. We don't want to fight the government, we want to place our views on the table," he said.

The INDIA bloc parties on Friday gave adjournment motion notices in the Lok Sabha and notices under Rule 267 in the Rajya Sabha to take up a discussion on the NEET issue.  Amid vociferous protest by the opposition, the Lok Sabha was adjourned little after 12 noon. 

The Rajya Sabha saw protests and more than one adjournments before the opposition MPs staged a walkout as the Chairman refused to adjourn the House after Congress MP Phulo Devi Netam fainted and was taken to the hospital.  (PTI)