Parliament is set to witness heated debates on a range of issues like the NEET paper leak row, the Agnipath initiative and inflation when both the Houses reconvene on Monday. Besides the paper leak matter, the Opposition parties under the INDIA Bloc are also likely to raise the issue of unemployment and the alleged misuse of probing agencies by the NDA Government when Parliament is scheduled to take the debate on the Motion of Thanks of President’s Address.
The Lok Sabha has allocated 16 hours for the debate on the Motion of Thanks, which will conclude with the reply by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. In the Rajya Sabha, 21 hours have been set aside for the debate and the Prime Minister is likely to reply on Wednesday. Opposition INDIA Bloc members forced adjournment in Lok Sabha when the House was to take up the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address, demanding a dedicated discussion on the NEET issue.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Sunday announced that leaders of the INDIA bloc will protest in the Parliament complex on Monday morning against the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alleged misuse of the CBI and the ED to target Opposition leaders.
“The BJP-led Central Government and its prime investigating agencies are misusing power. Modi is targeting Opposition parties and filing fake cases. The CBI and the ED have filed false cases and investigations against every Opposition leader, from senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to Mamata Banerjee to DMK leaders. They have arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The ED and the CBI will go against whoever speaks against and does not join the BJP,” Singh said at a press conference on Sunday.
Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Sunday asserted that the Government was in touch with “all stakeholders” in the NEET paper leak case and a decision “in the best interests of students” will be taken at an “appropriate” time. He also slammed the Opposition for stalling Parliament’s proceedings over the issue, alleging that it reflected a “flawed mindset” (galat soch).
Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he addressed the first episode of Mann ki Baat in his third term, Congress’ media and publicity head Pawan Khera questioned why he did not mention NEET, the railway accident or the “infrastructure collapses”. He said the Opposition Parliamentarians will keep on protesting until the Government debates on the issue for a resolution that no young minds are affected due to such paper leaks.
NEET-UG was conducted by the NTA on May 5 with around 24 lakh candidates appearing. The results were announced on June 4, but they were followed by allegations of question paper leaks in States such as Bihar, besides other irregularities.
BJP member and former Union Minister Anurag Thakur is set to initiate the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address which is to be seconded by first term Lok Sabha member Bansuri Swaraj, the daughter of BJP stalwart late Sushma Swaraj. The debate has already been initiated in the Rajya Sabha by member Sudhanshu Trivedi on Friday but could not proceed due to protests by the Opposition.
