PM Modi acted immediately to safeguard students' interests: Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy on NEET exam row

"According to my knowledge, PM Modi acted immediately after it came to his notice. In the first cabinet itself, he advised the concerned minister how to...safeguard the interest of the students. He has given the direction," Kumaraswamy told reporters.

The former Karnataka CM also performed yoga on the 10th International Yoga Day here in the national capital on Friday.

"PM Modi encouraged citizens of nearly 124 countries to do Yoga every day and keep good health. I congratulate him," he said after the event.

Earlier on Thursday, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Modi and said he is 'silent' on the entire issue because he is "crippled" and he has "psychologically collapsed" post-elections and will struggle to run a government like this.

Rahul Gandhi further said that it seems PM Modi is not bothered about NEET and is instead more concerned regarding the election of the Speaker.

"The silence (of government) is because the Prime Minister is crippled. Right now, the PM's main agenda is the (election of) Speaker. He is not bothered about NEET or all these things. He is bothered about his government and Speaker. That is where his mind is," Rahul Gandhi said at a press conference on Thursday.

Speaking about the people who have been arrested from Bihar in the "paper leak" case, he said, "Regarding Bihar, we have said that there should be an inquiry and action should be taken against those who have leaked the paper."

Rahul Gandhi also said that the Congress party will raise the issue in the Parliament.

Recently, Patna Police arrested several people including some candidates who had taken the NEET exam in recent days.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the government is working to further strengthen the National Testing Agency (NTA) by "reconsidering important things." He also assured action against those responsible for the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the examinations.

Speaking to ANI, Pradhan said, "In a democracy, everyone has their views. It is our job to listen to everyone. Our responsibility is to run a process-driven government, it is our responsibility to speak the truth and accept truth. Few students have doubts about NTA (National Testing Agency) and we will have to accept this."

"The government has decided to form a committee and experts will be part of that committee. All the important things will be reconsidered and the NTA will be strengthened further. Those who are responsible for it (discrepancies) will be held accountable," he said.

The Education Minister earlier announced the formation of a high-level committee to probe into the issues pertaining to the functioning of NTA.

The NEET-UG 2024 exam was conducted on May 5 and the results were declared on June 4, ahead of its scheduled announcement date of June 14. Protests were held alleging irregularities and paper leaks as the results showed that as many as 67 students had topped the exam with a perfect score of 720.

The NEET-UG examination, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), paves the way for admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country. (ANI)