Oppn stages nationwide stir against holding of NEET, JEE

Demand that exams be deferred due to Covid-19 pandemic, floods

Chandigarh, Aug. 28: The Congress and its youth wing on Friday staged nationwide protests against holding JEE and NEET amid the Covidpandemic.

Protests were held in Haryana, Punjab and their joint capital Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Goa, Uttarakhand, and Bengaluru.

Various Opposition parties, including the Congress, have demanded that the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) be deferred due to the Covid-19 pandemic and floods in parts of the country, even as the Union government has made it clear that they will be held as per schedule with due precautions.

In Haryana, Congress leaders and workers held protests at many places including Karnal, Kaithal, Bhiwani and Sirsa. Congress workers in

Bhiwani burnt an effigy of the Union education minister and demanded that the exams be deferred keeping in view the present Covid-19 situation. In Sirsa, Congress workers, during a protest, demanded that the exams be deferred for now. “What is the urgency of holding these exams when cases are increasing. Why are lives of thousands of students and their families being put at risk,” a Congress leader said.

Members of the Chandigarh Territorial Congress, led by its president Pradeep Chhabra, staged a protest against holding of these exams, with him saying this is not the time to “endanger the lives of students”. “Don’t play with the lives of students,” read a placard at the protest in Chandigarh. At many places in Punjab, the Youth Congress submitted memorandums addressed to the Centre through the district administrations on the issue. It demanded that these exams be put off for the time being.

In Rajasthan, Transport minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, chief whip Mahesh Joshi, former Pradesh Congress Committee president Sachin Pilot and other leaders took part in the agitation at the main gate of Malviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT) on JLN Marg. “The Centre is adamant on holding the examinations while ignoring the plight of lakhs of students and putting their lives at stake. Congress will intensify the agitation if the exams are not postponed,” Khachariyawas said while addressing the protesters.

Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel strongly opposed the Centre’s decision to hold NEET and JEE exams amid the Covid-19 pandemic.