Rajya Sabha adjourned amid NEET row as government, Opposition clash

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 12 noon on July 23 after noisy protests and sloganeering by Opposition members over the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination, as a heated confrontation between the Treasury and Opposition benches stalled proceedings.

The disruption came amid an escalating political row over the alleged paper leak, with both sides accusing each other of obstructing a discussion on the issue.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government was ready for a detailed debate on NEET, but alleged that the Opposition was preventing it by attaching conditions.

"All parties have demanded that NEET be discussed. Today, the entire NDA has again demanded that NEET be discussed," Rijiju said, adding that there had been "a little hope" after discussions with Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and other Opposition leaders on Wednesday.

He alleged that the Congress had imposed conditions before agreeing to the debate.

"We requested that we decide among ourselves how and for how long the discussion would proceed, but don't impose conditions. Your intention to impose conditions is not correct because you want to stop the discussion," he said.

Appealing for a non-political debate, Rijiju said the government wanted the matter to be discussed "thoroughly in both Houses, without any politicisation". Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks earlier in the day, he said the Prime Minister had taken "a very strong step" by announcing fast-track courts to ensure the "harshest punishment" for those involved in paper leak cases.

Responding sharply, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the Prime Minister's statement, calling it "an instigative statement", and reiterated the Opposition's demand for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

"The Education Minister should resign. Only then we will be ready to have a discussion," Kharge said.

Earlier in the day, Opposition MPs staged a protest near Makar Dwar in the Parliament complex, demanding Pradhan's dismissal over the alleged examination paper leaks. Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi joined the demonstration.

At the same time, MPs from the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) organised a counter-protest against Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee, who was suspended from the House after making objectionable remarks against two women MPs.

The developments followed Prime Minister Modi's first public response to the controversy, in which he stressed the need to protect the future of young people and announced that fast-track courts would be set up to ensure swift and stringent action against those responsible for examination paper leaks.