- Congress rally caused Bengaluru traffic jam, delaying NEET re-test candidates
- Three students missed the NEET exam due to late arrival amid traffic congestion
- BJP criticised Congress for prioritizing politics over students' exam schedules
A Congress rally allegedly choked the Bengaluru roads as aspiring doctors panicked over arriving late at their NEET re-test centres in Bengaluru city yesterday. At least three students even missed the exam. The issue has now taken a political turn, with the BJP and the Congress facing off over the parents' allegations.
About 22 lakh students appeared for the NEET UG re-test across the country yesterday, over a month after the first attempt was invalidated due to allegations of a paper leak.
The exam began at 2 pm. Students were asked to report half an hour earlier. But as the clock ticked, panic unfolded on the roads. Parents with two-wheelers tried to squeeze through rows of cars. Some rode their scooters on footpaths.
Three students who arrived late were left heartbroken. Their efforts had gone in vain. Entry had stopped. They tried to climb the exam centre's main gate, but the gate inside had closed by then too. They were not allowed to sit for the re-test.
Parents Slam Congress Rally
Angry parents pinned the blame on a Congress rally that had led to a traffic jam. They named Rahul Gandhi and Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in their outbursts while their students broke down in tears, hoping for that one last chance that could get them admission in a medical college.
Krishna Murthy, father of one of the aspirants, said they managed to reach the exam centre only at the last minute due to the rally.
Read: 9 Impersonators Reach Bihar Centre To Take NEET Re-Test, Arrested
"The 7-km stretch that usually takes 20 minutes took more than 35 minutes yesterday. As a father, I got panicked. I had to ride on the footpath, and the cops scolded us. But there was no option. Political rallies should happen on the outskirts, not in Bengaluru," Murthy said while speaking to NDTV.
Another parent said neither Rahul Gandhi, DK Shivakumar, nor Bengaluru Police Commissioner appears to be concerned. "Rahul Gandhi went to Kota for the cause of students, right? But because of his party's function today, four students missed their examination. Who is answerable to them?" he told IANS.
A student's father claimed that the road outside the NEET centre had been blocked for three hours. "NEET was announced a month ago. Entire India knew that NEET will be held on June 21. But the Congress organised a rally today. The road has been blocked for three hours. How will the children come?" the man alleged in a video byte to a news agency.
BJP vs Congress
Sharing the video, the BJP asked how much the Congress would stoop for its hunger for power. BJP MP Tejasvi Surya captioned it: "Watch the anxious parent narrate the ordeal of reaching late to the NEET exam hall because of Congress rally in Bengaluru."
Responding to him, Congress leader and Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge said Surya should first apologise for the central government's approach towards students' issues.
Read: UP Students Miss NEET Exam Due To Wrong Location Displayed On Google Maps
"We should not bother about Tejasvi Surya. I think he's looking for a ministerial berth in the reshuffle. Let him do drama. The Centre is playing with the lives of students. In the last decade alone, 89 paper leaks have happened," he thundered.
Defending his party's government, he pointed out students have missed the exam in BJP-ruled states too, like Delhi, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh.
"Three people did not appear for NEET in the city. One came from Magadi Road, the second had an old hall ticket, and the third came late from RT Nagar. The gates opened at 11 am. At 1.30 pm, you are supposed to report. There are biometric checks and SOPs in place. We had issued a traffic advisory and provided a helpline. Show me which BJP government has done this," he added.
Read: "Extremely Unfair": Exhausted Aspirants Return For NEET Re-Exam
Another BJP MP, Sudhanshu Trivedi, suggested that the Congress could have changed the rally timing, if not the day, but did not do it despite knowing that NEET would be held yesterday.
"This makes it clear that Congress prioritises politics over student interests. The students' parents have raised questions for Rahul Gandhi, but it reflects the queries of the entire country. They can't escape answering this question," he said.
Congress's BK Hariprasad expressed regret for the students who missed their exam and questioned the BJP over alleged suicides by NEET aspirants over the years.
"I heard some students faced hardship to reach the hall. If indeed they have, I express my regrets for the inconveniences. However, I would like to ask the BJP: Due to their failures, many exams and preparations went to waste. Did they apologise?" he asked while speaking with NDTV.
Former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, who heads the JDS, called it a "shameful development" for the government.
