NEET exam row: Ex-Chhattisgarh CM Baghel seeks SC-monitored inquiry

Raipur: Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday hit out at BJP-led Centre over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024 examination and said an independent inquiry should be conducted into it under the supervision of a sitting judge of the Supreme Court.

Baghel, a senior Congress leader, was talking to reporters on the sidelines of the party's agitation here at the Rajiv Gandhi Chowk as part of its nationwide protest against alleged irregularities in the NEET exam.

He said over the past one decade, question papers of 70 exams have been leaked, and termed the BJP-led dispensation at the Centre as 'paper leak government'.

"It (paper leaks) has happened because people belonging to one ideology are sitting in key posts. Incompetent people have been placed on key posts. A racket has been operating in the entire country. It is not merely a matter of Rs 10 lakh, Rs 20 lakh, Rs 25 lakh or Rs 50 lakh. It is rather a matter (scam) of thousands of crores of rupees. It is a matter of the future of lakhs of youths. There should be an independent inquiry into it under the supervision of a sitting judge of the SC," he said.

This is not merely an issue of paper leaks, but is of a much larger scam, he said demanding cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 examination.

He also demanded sacking of of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Baghel targeted the newly-elected BJP MPs in Chhattisgarh, and said that although 10 parliamentarians have been elected from Chhattisgarh (in the recently-held Lok Sabha polls), they were silent on the NEET row.

BJP MPs from the state should speak whether it is right or wrong to play with the future of the children, he said.

Former home minister Tamradhwaj Sahu and other senior party leaders attended the sit-in protest.