Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Sunday raised concern over "irregularities" in the NEET-UG examination and appealed to the public to come in support of the students demanding re-examination.
In a video message circulated by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharadwaj extended solidarity with the students who have been staging protests across the country against the alleged paper leak and fraudulent practices in the MBBS qualifying examination.
Questioning the BJP-led Centre, Bharadwaj said, "This is a very serious issue concerning our 24 lakh children who prepared for year long and appeared for the MBBS examination with the hope of becoming doctors." "Today, news is coming from all over that corruption was found on a large scale in this examination. These students who used to study 18 hours in a day to become a doctor are heartbroken. They are asking for a small thing to re-conduct the examination. Can the Centre not agree to this small demand?" he asked.
Citing the news, Bharadwaj alleged in Gujarat, the centre where the examination was held, the students were asked to leave the questions they didn't know and teachers at the centre would later fill the answer on their behalf in lieu of money.
He also said that in Bihar a safe house was built where 13 students were taken a day ahead of the NEET examination on May 5 and their phones were taken away while the question paper was distributed. The parents of the students were asked to pay Rs 30-50 lakh for the question paper, he added.
Bharadwaj further said in the last decade a lot of agitations have taken place in the country whether it be the farmers protest or the army men who protested for one rank, one pension scheme, "but it doesn't concern people unless the issue directly affects them".
"Through such incidents our country's reputation will be adversely impacted and the future of these 24 lakh children will loom under darkness...In the foreign countries, Indian doctors are in demand because they know our examination system is rigorous and trusted," said Bharadwaj.
"I want to appeal to you all to do away with this 'how does it bother us' mindset. Lets stand for our 24 lakh children, otherwise this country's important hand (youth) will be destroyed," he added.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
