Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): As newly elected Members of Parliament took oath in the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha on Monday, prominent leaders from Jammu and Kashmir voiced their concern over the plight of students affected by the recent NEET UG 2024 paper 'leak' row.
Mehbooba Mufti, the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and President of the People's Democratic Party, took to Twitter to highlight the stark contrast between the celebrations in Parliament and the despair among students.
"While hundreds of elected Member Parliamentarians will take an oath today after their well-earned victories, lakhs of students across India who toiled day and night to take multiple competitive exams will watch helplessly as their hard work goes down the drain," Mehbooba wrote.
She urged parliamentarians to rise above party affiliations and advocate for the younger generation, whose futures she described as "very bleak."
In a separate statement, Omar Abdullah, another former Chief Minister and Vice President of the National Conference, criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not addressing the NEET exam scandal in his recent remarks.
"While attacking the opposition is the prerogative of the Honorable Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and we wouldn’t expect BJP being humbled in the recent polls to change that, it would have been in the fitness of things for the Honorable Prime Minister to spare a few words for the young men and women for whom the NEET scandal is the only issue that matters," Omar stated.
He emphasized that "Exam pe charcha isn’t a one-off but a long-term commitment to the interests and concerns of students."
