Addressing the joint session of Parliament on Thursday (June 27), President Droupadi Murmu reiterated the government's stance on recent paper leak incidents. She assured that no culprit involved in the incidents would be spared and that stringent action would be taken against them.
In her address, President Murmu stated, "An impartial investigation will be conducted into the paper leak, and the culprits will be given strict punishment."
President Murmu also mentioned that paper leak instances have occurred under previous governments as well, emphasizing the need for a policy to prevent such incidents in the future.
Exam Paper Leak Fiasco
Significantly, President Murmu's statement comes amid irregularities exposed in the NEET-UG 2024 and UGC NET examinations. While the UGC-NET was canceled by authorities due to concerns over the integrity of the examination just a day after it was held, the National Testing Agency (NTA) also re-conducted the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Undergraduate (NEET UG) 2024 exam on June 23 for over 1,563 aspirants, who were also allotted grace marks for the loss of time during the originally scheduled exam on May 5, 2024.
Meanwhile, it is pertinent to note that amid the present row over the irregularities in the NEET-UG examination, the Union Health Ministry citing 'precautionary measures' decided to postpone the examination.
In a statement released, the Ministry said, "Taking into consideration the recent incidents of allegations regarding the integrity of certain competitive examinations, the Ministry of Health has decided to undertake a thorough assessment of the robustness of the processes of the NEET-PG Entrance Examination, conducted by the National Board of Examinations for medical students. It has accordingly been decided, as a precautionary measure, to postpone the NEET-PG Entrance Examination, scheduled to be held tomorrow, i.e., June 23, 2024."
Emergency biggest and darkest chapter
Further, President Droupadi Murmu during her address to the joint session of Parliament on Thursday also described the imposition of Emergency in 1975 as the "biggest and darkest chapter". Citing the emergency period as a direct attack on the Constitution, the President said, the country emerged victorious over such unconstitutional forces.
"Today is 27th June. The imposition of Emergency on June 25, 1975 was the biggest and darkest chapter of direct attack on the Constitution. The entire country felt outraged. But the country emerged victorious over such unconstitutional forces as the traditions of the republic lie at the core of India," the President said.
