NEET deadlock washes out 4th straight day of Parliament monsoon session
NEW DELHI: The monsoon session of Parliament remained deadlocked for a fourth straight day on Thursday as the ruling NDA and the opposition failed to break the impasse over the NEET paper leak controversy. Repeated disruptions in both Houses, protests inside and outside Parliament, and competing demands from the government and the opposition ensured that little legislative business could be conducted. The opposition continued to demand the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan before any discussion on the issue, while the government maintained it was ready for an immediate debate without preconditions.
Houses adjourned as NEET deadlock persists
In the Lok Sabha, opposition MPs raised slogans and entered the well of the House after every adjournment, prompting repeated appeals from the Chair to maintain order. Speaker Om Birla urged members to allow Question Hour to continue, saying, “The Question Hour is the most important. After the Question Hour, the House is ready to discuss every issue. I will speak to the government and the government is also ready for discussions. I appeal to all members to participate in the discussion after the Question Hour.”Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said the government was prepared for a discussion and even willing to let the opposition decide its timing and duration, but accused opposition parties of insisting on Pradhan’s resignation instead of participating in the debate.The Rajya Sabha witnessed a similar impasse. Leader of opposition Mallikarjun Kharge was briefly allowed to speak after the House reassembled, but deputy chairman Harivansh stopped him, saying he had permitted the intervention only to help break the deadlock and begin the agreed discussion on NEET. Rijiju again maintained that the government was ready for a detailed debate, while accusing the Opposition of preferring protests over parliamentary proceedings.
NDA and opposition stage counter-protests
The standoff spilled outside Parliament as MPs from the INDIA bloc and the NDA held rival demonstrations near Makar Dwar.Opposition MPs, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Akhilesh Yadav, demanded Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, raising slogans such as “Isteefa do” and “gaddi chhodo.” Meanwhile, NDA MPs accused the opposition of politicising the paper leak issue and avoiding a debate, responding with slogans including “sharam karo” and “Vande Mataram.”Tensions briefly escalated when CPI(M) MP John Brittas was seen pulling a poster from BJP leader Arun Singh’s hands, prompting Parliament security personnel to form a human chain to separate MPs from both sides.
Meetings with Speaker fail to break impasse
As disruptions continued, Union home minister Amit Shah met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Saugata Roy and Mahua Moitra had also met the Speaker after Birla invited opposition leaders to discuss the schedule and format of a debate on NEET.Despite the meetings, Parliament remained paralysed through the day.
Government urges debate, opposition sticks to demand
Speaking to reporters, Rijiju urged opposition parties to participate in a discussion instead of stalling Parliament.”If you want debate and discussion then you will play a positive role. If you are avoiding a parliamentary debate then you start putting conditions after conditions,” ANI quoted him saying.Appealing for normal functioning of Parliament, he added, “We are with open heart asking and appealing the opposition party, don’t stall the Parliament. There are important bills and very important business in this monsoon Session. We are ready to keep it aside and first of all initiate the discussion on the NEET exam paper leak and all the examinations which happen in the country. There are cases of paper leaks in different states. So it’s a concern for everybody. It is not a concern for one party or one state because paper leaks have happened in so many places.”The Congress, however, maintained that accountability must come first. Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla said, “Such is the situation that neither farmers are happy nor the youth. The government has woken up now after there were so many paper leaks. LoP Rahul Gandhi is the shadow PM, but you don’t let him speak. If you had listened to what he had said, this situation would not have arisen today. Education Minister must be asked to resign, and the government should apologise to the students.”With neither side willing to yield, the monsoon session completed its fourth consecutive day without substantive business, extending the deadlock over the NEET paper leak controversy. Go to Source
