Seven CMs to jointly move SC against conducting NEET, JEE exams

Chief Ministers of seven opposition states are planning to jointly move the Supreme Court, seeking a review of the NEET-JEE examinations scheduled to be held in September.

Chief Ministers of West Bengal, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Puducherry decided to move the Supreme Court at a meeting convened by Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday.

The proposal to move the Supreme Court was mooted by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and agreed upon by other chief ministers attending the meeting through video-conferencing.

“Let us go to the Supreme Court. Let us talk about this matter. This is a mental agony for students. I have not seen so many atrocities in a democracy. The situation is very serious. We have to speak up for the children,” Banerjee said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said the Opposition has to decide whether it has to live in fear or fight it out.

“We have to decide darna hai ki ladna hai (whether we live in fear or fight it out). There is no point in holding a mere discussion. It is time for action. There is a lot of power with the common man,” Thackeray said.

“I agree, we should work together,” Gandhi said.

Chief Ministers Amarinder Singh (Punjab), Hemant Soren (Jharkhand), Bhupesh Baghel (Chhatisgarh), Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan) and V Narayanasamy (Puducherry) concurred with Banerjee.

Soren suggested meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi or President Ram Nath Kovind before moving the Supreme Court, but Banerjee pointed out that the NEET/JEE examinations were just a week away and it would be prudent to move the apex Court given the urgency of the situation.

Amarinder concurred that all the Chief Ministers attending the meeting should jointly move the Supreme Court and file a review petition on the order to hold NEET-JEE examinations.