New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the welfare of the country’s youth is the top priority of his government and asserted that anyone trying to harm their future will not be spared.
Modi’s outreach to the youth came three days after thousands of students led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) took part in the ‘Sansad Chalo’ march against irregularities in the NEET exam and to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
During the march, police resorted to lathi-charge and lobbed tear gas shells, injuring scores of students. Over 100 policemen were also injured while trying to stop the protest march.
In his message on X, Modi also said that the government has decided to set up fast-track courts to ensure swift and stringent punishment for those involved in paper leaks.
“Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth! This is our top priority. Those who try to harm the future of our youth will not be spared,” he said in a post on X.
The prime minister also said that he has directed the concerned authorities and officials to take all necessary steps on the issue of paper leaks.
“This is an important step in the series of decisions being taken by the government to safeguard the interests of students,” he said.
Modi’s first public message on the NEET paper leaks came on Tuesday, when he spoke about the issue at a meeting of the NDA Parliamentary Party.
There was no live telecast of this speech, nor was there any statement. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and some MPs shared what Modi said at that meeting.
According to them, the PM said that strong action was taken against those involved in the “grave sin” of the paper leaks so that no one plays with the future of the youth.
Modi said all state governments and the Centre must join hands on the issue as it is “not a matter of party politics but a matter of national interest”.
He also told NDA MPs that they should remain closely connected with the people with “warmth and affection” and that the “trust of the youth” needed to be won.
Rijiju said Modi told the MPs that the government acted immediately after reports of the paper leak surfaced, and 13 people were arrested.
“At the same time, the prime minister noted that to ensure that students’ future was not affected, the NEET re-examination was given priority, conducted successfully, and the results were declared without delay,” Rijiju said.
The prime minister termed the NEET paper leak “ghorpaap (grave sin)”, the MPs who attended the meeting said. The exam is conducted for admission to undergraduate courses in medical colleges.
The prime minister pointed out that while the NEET re-examination created inconvenience for children, not only did the re-test take place without delay, but the government also engaged renowned lawyers to ensure strict punishment for those involved.
Modi, the MPs said, conveyed clearly that there should be no injustice to students and suggested that it was easy to misguide them but difficult to show them the right path.
Modi had also stressed the need to punish the guilty and collaboratively establish a foolproof system.
The CJP, which has been spearheading protests over alleged examination irregularities since June, has demanded that Pradhan be immediately sacked and Rs 1 crore compensation be given to the families of those who committed suicide after the NEET paper leak.
Activist Sonam Wangchuk has been on an indefinite hunger strike since June 28 after he joined the CJP’s agitation.
He was earlier forcibly shifted to Safdarjung Hospital by police, and was later moved to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram following a Delhi High Court order.
Two Union ministers — J P Nadda and Jitendra Singh — met Wangchuk at the hospital on Wednesday.
Nadda also met some of the injured protesters at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital here, besides holding a meeting with two representatives of the CJP, in a bid to resolve the issue.
The government has also announced that it was ready for an intensive discussion on the NEET paper leaks on the floor of Parliament.
Both Houses of Parliament have failed to transact any business for the first three days of the Monsoon session, which commenced on July 20, due to disruptions caused by the opposition.
A government functionary on Wednesday ruled out Pradhan’s resignation, saying he could not be blamed for the paper leak as he was in no way involved in it.
