Opposition CMs to move SC against NEET-JEE: Venugopal

New Delhi: The Congress has said that the opposition Chief Ministers, who attended a virtual meeting held by Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday, have decided to move the Supreme Court against the decision of the Central government to go ahead with the NEET-JEE amid the Covid-19 pandemic and flood situation in certain states.

The Congress has also decided to stage protests on Friday morning in front of Central government offices in state and district headquarters protesting against these exams. Reiterating its strong opposition to the same, Congress MP and AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal termed the Centre as "ever insensitive and mindless".

"Lakhs of students and parents from across the country are rightfully agitating and demanding to postpone the JEE-NEET, scheduled to be held in the middle of the ever burgeoning Covid-19 crisis. However, an ever insensitive and mindless Central government is moving ahead with the decision to hold these exams despite the obvious risk it holds," he said in a statement.

"The decision to hold these exams during the Covid crisis has created a huge concern among the students and parents owing to the fear of Covid-19 infection if forced to sit physically for an offline examination at designated centres," he added.

"Apart from the very obvious vulnerability to and risk of infection, the decision to hold the exams will undoubtedly make it increasingly difficult for students to appear for the exams due to the availability of limited transport and lodging during the pandemic," Venugopal claimed.

The Congress leader also highlighted the flood situation in states like Assam and Bihar to claim that it will only further complicate matters and put students from those states at a severe disadvantage.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday held a virtual meeting with opposition Chief Ministers to discuss this issue. The Chief Ministers reiterated that this move of the Central government has to be opposed "collectively".

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has also raised the demand to postpone the JEE-NEET taking the concerns of the students into account. The NSUI is also planning an indefinite hunger strike against this "unilateral move" by the Centre.

Calling it a "mindless and dictatorial move of the Central government", the state units of the Congress has decided to also take its protests online with an organised online campaign, 'Speak Up For Student Safety' where videos or posts against this decision will be posted on the party's different social media handles on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube among others.