Former BJP national president and Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, J.P. Nadda, on Wednesday declared that the Centre was ready to discuss the NEET paper leak case and the ongoing Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests at length in the Parliament.
This is a major development amid the ongoing CJP protests at Delhi's Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak case.
Similar protests have also been staged in various parts of the country by the Opposition and CJP supporters.
Nadda also addressed Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi's allegation of there being 152 paper leaks over the past decade, saying that these would be investigated thoroughly.
However, he also flagged the LoP's claims as "selective" outrage, questioning why Gandhi did not raise issues with governments that are a part of the INDIA bloc alliance.
“Why are you so selective? ... This clearly shows you have a motive, and you don't prioritise students,” Nadda said, listing cases of alleged exam malpractices in Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu, among others, when the Opposition had been in power there.
He also accused the Congress leader of trying to gain “political mileage” from student issues.
Nadda also noted that the Centre would properly respond to Sonam Wangchuk's letter, which had set a new condition for ending his June 28 hunger strike in solidarity with the CJP protest.
Wangchuk urged the Centre to protect the CJP protesters from legal action, pointing out that failure to do so would mean the hunger strike continuing.
Notably, Wangchuk had earlier demanded the Centre's assurance that accountability in the education sector—including the possible resignation of Pradhan—be discussed in the Parliament monsoon session from July 21 onwards.
Urging that the Opposition be constructive and support the "intensive discussion" on the matter, Nadda promised that the people would be given answers to all of their questions on the matter.
