Kiren Rijiju and Akhilesh Yadav (R)
NEW DELHI: Amid a political storm over the NEET paper leak row and escalating opposition protests, the Centre on Wednesday said it was “ready to hold a discussion” on the issue in Parliament, even as opposition parties continued to demand the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.The government’s offer came a day after a dramatic showdown outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence and as student protests continued at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, where protesters have been seeking accountability over the examination irregularities.Making the Centre’s position clear in the Lok Sabha, Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said the government was prepared to debate the issue.”The government is ready to hold a discussion on the NEET paper leak issue,” Rijiju said.He added that the Centre had urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to convene an all-party meeting to decide the rule, date and duration of the discussion.”There should be a constructive discussion for the future of the youth of this country. That is what the government wants,” the minister said.The government’s statement, however, failed to calm the opposition, which renewed its attack on the Centre and questioned why Dharmendra Pradhan continued to remain in office. Samajwadi Party supremo and MP Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the government was shielding the education minister.”We must think why the government is not able to remove its minister. What kind of pressure is there on the government? Does the minister hold secrets of the government because of which it is not able to remove him? The government is acting scared,” Akhilesh said.Speaking later in the Lok Sabha, Akhilesh said the issue transcended party politics and concerned the future of millions of students.”This is not an issue of Congress, Samajwadi Party or BJP. This is an issue of students and youth. The way the government has behaved… students were thrashed. We were compelled to hold a protest outside the Prime Minister’s residence. Why can’t the Prime Minister make a statement in the House when he can make statements outside?” he asked.Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee also intensified the Opposition’s attack, asserting that elected representatives would continue protesting until accountability was fixed.”When our children and students fight on the streets, we are their representatives. Who will fight for them if not us? We will continue to fight. We will fight everywhere. Dharmendra Pradhan will have to resign,” Banerjee said, while launching a broader attack on the government.The latest exchanges in Parliament came a day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accompanied by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Akhilesh Yadav and other Opposition leaders, marched towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence at Lok Kalyan Marg, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET row.The protest culminated in a face-off with Delhi Police in the high-security Lutyens’ Delhi area, with opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, being briefly detained after a scuffle broke out with security personnel.
