Govt not allowing NEET debate as people linked to them ruined students' future: Shaktisinh Gohil

New Delhi: Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil on Saturday claimed the government was not allowing a debate on the NEET paper leak issue in Parliament as people linked to the ruling party have ruined the future of lakhs of students and "there is so much evidence".

Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters here, Gohil, the party's Gujarat unit chief, referred to the investigation going on in Godhara in connection with the NEET-UG case and sought to know how can the government claim that paper leak has not happened.

"The government does not want to allow anyone in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha to discuss NEET because people linked to them have ruined the future of lakhs of students and there is so much evidence... So I do not believe that there is any door left through which the government can save its skin," Gohil said.

He said that during the investigation in Gujarat, "only small fish are being caught. Why are big crocodiles being released?" "Because Jay Jalaram school's chairman is standing with Modi ji," Gohil alleged, adding the school's principal and a teacher are "main accused one and two".

"Is it possible for my employees to commit such fraud in my centre, in my organization without my knowledge?" he asked.

Jay Jalaram School's physics teacher Tushar Bhatt, principal Parshottam Sharma, Vadodara-based education consultant Parsuram Roy, his aide Vibhor Anand and alleged middleman Arif Vohra were arrested by the Gujarat police in connection with the paper leak case.

Godhra police's May 8 FIR stated that the racket was unearthed after the Panchmahal district collector received a tip-off that some people were involved in malpractices linked to the exam.

Since the tip-off was received in advance, authorities prevented malpractices at the Jay Jalaram School in Godhra and the exam was conducted without a hitch, the FIR stated. The CBI has quizzed Dixit Patel, the owner of Jay Jalaram School, in connection with the case. The school run by Patel was one of the centres of the NEET-UG exam on May 5.

"The Government told the Supreme Court there is no paper leak in NEET exams. The Union Minister said all is well... Yet crores of rupees have been unearthed during the investigation, many blank checks have been found from the parents of the children who appeared for the NEET-UG exam," Gohil said.

"You can understand that in Godhra district, where there is no airport, someone from Odisha, Bihar, Maharashtra is going there to take the exam," the Congress leader said.

According to CBI sources, the accused already arrested had allegedly asked candidates arranged by them from Odisha, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to mark Godhra as their examination centre and choose Gujarati as their language.

The probe agency has claimed "a larger conspiracy" involving "interstate links" in the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination.

The CBI has registered six FIRs in the NEET-UG paper leak case which included its own FIR on a reference from the Union Education Ministry and five from the states where it took over investigation. The probe agency has taken over one case each in Bihar and Gujarat and three cases in Rajasthan.

NEET-UG is conducted by the National Testing Agency for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country. This year's exam was conducted on May 5 at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 abroad. Over 23 lakh candidates appeared for the test.