'Ready For Debate On NEET Paper Leak, Students Our Top Priority': Kiren Rijiju

As the Opposition scaled up its attacks on the Centre over the NEET paper leak and the crackdown on student protests, the government on Wednesday agreed to a debate inside Parliament on the issue.

Amid sloganeering and protests by the Opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced on the floor of the Lok Sabha that the government was ready for a detailed discussion on the issue of the NEET paper leak.

"Students are our top priority. We want a detailed discussion in the House on the NEET paper leak issue," Rijiju said amid Opposition uproar.

The Opposition, however, raised the issue of police brutality against protesters and demanded a statement from the Prime Minister.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, leading the Opposition charge, referred to Tuesday's dharna outside the PM's house, saying they were forced to hold a sit-in at the Prime Minister's residence as he doesn't speak in Parliament.

"PM speaks on the youth issue outside Parliament. Why can't he make a statement in the House?" Yadav asked.

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He added that students were brutally assaulted by the police on the government's order on the streets of the Capital and government must answer.

Even as the government agreed to the debate, the Opposition stuck to its demand for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation before any discussion in Parliament.

"First fix accountability, then there can be a debate. Dharmendra Pradhan must resign first," Congress MP Pawan Khera told NDTV.

Speaker Om Birla tried to initiate the discussion, saying that both the ruling and Opposition sides wanted a debate, but had to adjourn the House as the Opposition did not budge on the resignation demand.

Outside Parliament, Kiren Rijiju blamed the Opposition for delaying the debate. "We have made it clear that we are ready for a debate right away. The Opposition is delaying it," he said. 

In his first remarks on NEET irregularities after massive protests in the heart of Delhi over the issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asserted that strong action had been taken against those involved in the "grave sin" of paper leaks so that no one could play with the future of the youth.

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PM Modi said all state governments and the Centre must join hands on the issue as it is "not a matter of party politics but a matter of national interest". He also told NDA MPs that they should remain closely connected with the people with "warmth and affection" and that the "trust of the youth" needed to be won.

The Prime Minister, sources said, conveyed clearly that there should be no injustice to students and suggested that it was easy to misguide them but difficult to show them the right path.

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused the government of exploiting students and demanded the resignations of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Home Minister Amit Shah over the NEET paper leak controversy.

Gandhi, who was detained by Delhi Police during a dharna outside the Prime Minister's residence on Tuesday, has also demanded a discussion in Parliament, action against policemen who assaulted students, and an apology from the Prime Minister over Monday's crackdown.

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who is at the centre of the storm, also launched a scathing attack on Gandhi on Tuesday night, accusing him and the Congress of "exploiting students".

"Even after the government conveyed its readiness for a comprehensive discussion, the Congress chose political spectacle over democratic debate. Their objective was never solutions for students, it was disruption for political headlines," the education minister wrote on X.