New Delhi:

A 100-strong mob of workers from the NSUI, or National Students Union of India – the Congress’ student wing – barged into and briefly took over the Delhi office of the National Testing Agency, the central body under scrutiny over question paper leaks and other irregularities in this year’s NEET-UG exams.

There is now a heavy police presence at the NTA office in Delhi’s Okhla area.

Early visuals showed a crowd marching down a tree-lined avenue and into the NTA building, shouting and screaming as they charge inside. One video shows a metal padlock on a door – presumably the front door – with a poster declaring “no more corrupt NTA” attached. Photographs from inside the building show protesters gathering at a courtyard with more posters denouncing the NTA.

Meanwhile, in other videos protesters are shouting “NTA bandh karo, bandh karo“.

संसद से महज़ चंद कदमों के फासले पर, पेपर लीक वाली लीकेज सरकार के विरुद्ध पूरे जोश के साथ गरज रहे हैं IYC के साथी! #IYCSansadGheraopic.twitter.com/lCLAv6BC77

— Indian Youth Congress (@IYC) June 27, 2024

Shortly after storming the building the protesters left.

The student wing’s protest came hours after the Congress’ youth wing, the Indian Youth Congress, protested near Parliament as President Droupadi Murmu addressed a joint session. On the NEET exam row, she said the government is “committed to a fair investigation” of the entire issue.

READ | Youth Congress Workers Detained Near Parliament Amid NEET Protest

NEET Exam Row

Controversy over the NEET exam – nearly 24 lakh students took the May 5 qualifying exam for entrance to medical courses – broke this month after results were declared.

The first red flags were the unusually high number of perfect scores; a record 67 students, including six from one coaching centre, scored a maximum 720 in the uber-competitive exam. Questions were also asked over the award of ‘grace marks’ – not exam protocol, the NTA said – to 1, 563 students.

After a flurry of arrests by police forces – from Bihar, Maharashtra, and Delhi – the CBI has taken over the investigation. Agency sources told NDTV a nationwide corruption racket may be involved. Today the agency made its first arrests.

READ | CBI Makes First Arrests In Bihar In NEET-UG Paper Leak Case

CBI sources said one accused – Manish Kumar – facilitated the transport of students to an empty school where they were given the leaked question paper to commit to memory, while the other – Ashutosh – provided lodging.

Supreme Court Notice To NTA

The Supreme Court this afternoon issued a notice to the exam body after a petition claimed the May NEET-UG exam had been rigged. The court directed the NTA to respond by July 8.

READ | Supreme Court Notice To Exam Body Over NEET-UG Row

The petitioners, represented by a coaching centre and other students, argued for students’ right to access their Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets.

The two-judge bench – Justice Manoj Mishra and Justice SVN Bhatti – presiding over the case, questioned the fundamental rights allegedly violated by the NTA’s actions. 

Political War Over Exam Row

The NEET (and UGC-NET) exam row has meant the ruling BJP and the Congress-led opposition have gone head-to-head in the early days of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term – over allegations of leaked question papers, preferential marking, and criminals running ‘solver gangs’.

READ | “NEET” Chants In Parliament As Education Minister Takes Oath

On Monday opposition benches heckled Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan – shouting “NEET” and “shame” – as he took his MP’s oath. Mr Pradhan has said the government is taking the issue of leaked question papers seriously and has formed a high-level investigative committee.

Political Blame Game

The sordid scenario took a predictable political twist too, with members of the opposition – particularly the Congress-led INDIA bloc – targeting the ruling BJP. The government hit back by claiming connections between ex-Bihar Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, whose RJD is part of the INDIA group, and Yadavendu. The RJD denied the claim and accused the BJP of trying to shift focus.

READ | In NEET Row, BJP, RJD Trade Claims Of ‘Link’ To Key Accused

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called BJP-ruled states the “epicentre of paper leak”; the reference was to cops busting a massive paper leak racket for the Uttar Pradesh Police Constable exam.

The government has, meanwhile, operationalised a stringent law that aims to curb malpractices and irregularities in competitive examinations. A maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore for offenders are some of the tough measures under the law.

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New Delhi:

Counting of votes for Delhi University Students Union elections began on Saturday and the results of all four central panel posts of president, vice-president, secretary and joint secretary are expected to be announced soon. Twenty-four candidates are contesting the elections.

The DUSU elections were last held in 2019. The polls could not be held in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 while possible disruptions to the academic calendar prevented their conduct in 2022.

Chander Shekhar — the chief election officer for the polls — said the university recorded a voter turnout of 42 per cent. Around one lakh students were eligible to vote in the election.

While the voting percentage was higher than in 2019 when a turnout of 39.90 per cent was recorded, it failed to surpass the nearly 11-year-high figure of 2018. The turnouts in 2018 and 2017 were 44.46 per cent and 42.8 per cent, respectively.

Elections at 52 colleges and departments for the central panel were conducted through EVMs while voting for the college union polls was on paper ballot.

For the students, core issues ranged from fee hikes to the lack of affordable accommodations, enhanced security during college fests and menstrual leaves.

As for many organisations backed by political parties, these polls are a way to gauge the mood of young voters. This year’s elections assume significance as they were held just months before the Lok Sabha polls.

The Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) has claimed to have won union elections in 17 colleges (day colleges) while the RSS-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) claimed victory in 34.

The ABVP, NSUI, CPI(M)-backed Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the CPI(ML)-Liberation-linked All India Students’ Association (AISA) had fielded candidates for all four central posts. The ABVP won three of the four seats in the 2019 elections.

DUSU is the main representative body for most colleges and faculties. Each college also has its own students’ union, elections to which are held annually. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)