The BJP on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the Congress and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over the protests near Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence, accusing the Opposition of politicising the NEET row and attempting to create unrest instead of engaging in parliamentary debate.
Addressing a press conference, BJP Lok Sabha MP Bansuri Swaraj said the Modi government acted promptly after reports of alleged irregularities in the NEET examination surfaced, ordering a CBI probe, conducting a re-examination and ensuring that the results were declared within the stipulated time to safeguard students’ interests.
She said the Ministry of Education handed the case over to the CBI on May 12 after receiving information that the May 3 examination may have been compromised.
According to her, the CBI constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), arrested 13 accused and sought expeditious court proceedings. She said a re-examination was conducted within 37 days and results declared within 25 days, with around 20 lakh students appearing for the test.
Swaraj said the government had remained open to dialogue throughout the protests and alleged that the Opposition abandoned talks in favour of “politicisation and chaos”.
She also claimed that several narratives circulated on social media during the protests such as allegations of the arrest of protest leaders, mistreatment of Sonam Wangchuk's wife Geetanjali, injuries to a minor and dismantling of the protest stage were found to be false during fact-checks.
The BJP MP also criticised Rahul Gandhi for protesting near the Prime Minister's residence instead of pursuing a discussion in Parliament. She said the government had submitted a notice under Rule 193 for a discussion on the NEET issue, while accusing the Opposition of disrupting parliamentary proceedings rather than participating in debate.
Delhi BJP president Harsh Malhotra condemned the Congress protest outside the Prime Minister's residence, calling it “an insult to democracy”. He alleged that the demonstrations over the past three days were not a genuine student movement but an attempt by the Congress, AAP, Communist parties and the Samajwadi Party to incite unrest among the youth.
“The office of the Prime Minister represents the honour of 1.4 billion Indians. By protesting outside the Prime Minister's residence, the Congress has insulted not only the Prime Minister but the people of the country as well,” Malhotra said.
The Delhi BJP demanded a public apology from the Congress over the protest and appealed to party workers to respond peacefully and democratically.
Cong workers demand Pradhan's resignation
Thousands of Congress workers, led by Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Devender Yadav, staged a protest near the BJP headquarters at Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Marg on Wednesday, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET paper leak and police action against student protesters.
The protesters assembled at the DPCC office at Rajiv Bhawan before marching towards the BJP headquarters. However, they were stopped by the Delhi Police before reaching the venue.
According to the Congress, several leaders, including Devender Yadav and AICC Delhi in-charge Qazi Nizamuddin, were detained and taken to the IP Estate police station during the protest.
Yadav criticised the detention of Rahul Gandhi during his protest near the Prime Minister's residence, describing it as “unprecedented”.