Congress: Godhra epicentre of NEET scam; main accused is close to BJP

New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday alleged that Godhra town of Gujarat was one of the epicentres of the NEET scam and alleged that the chairman of the trust that was a major player in the scam was close to senior BJP leaders.

Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Gujarat PCC president and MP Shaktisinh Gohil, while quoting an affidavit filed by a Gujarat Police DSP in the Sessions Court, Godhra, explained the complete modus operandi of the scandal.

Gohil also alleged that despite knowing that a scam had taken place, the BJP government, through its education minister, lied to the Supreme Court of India and to the people that no scam had taken place.

Guidelines flouted by those in charge

Gohil said that while the NEET was conducted on May 5, 2024, an FIR was registered on May 8 and investigations started which led to the arrest of some people and the seizure of crores of rupees and blank cheques. Despite that, the BJP government told the SC that no scam had taken place.

He claimed that the epicentre of the NEET scam was a school run by the Jay Jalaram Education Trust. He claimed that the trust chairman was close to the BJP including former union minister Smriti Irani and the governor Anandiben Patel.

The Congress leader alleged that all guidelines regarding the grant of NEET centres were flouted while giving the centre to the Jay Jalaram School, which had been penalised in the past for several violations.

Blank questions were marked correctly after exam

Principal and one of the professors of the Education Trust are the accused number one and two in the case, Gohil quoted the Gujarat Police affidavit in the matter.

He explained how the students were asked to mark the answers to only those questions which they were hundred per cent sure. They were asked to leave the remaining spaces blank which were later marked correctly that led these students to score 100 percent marks in the NEET.

He said, one of the other accused is the vice president of the BJP Minority Morcha, Godhra.

Observing that it is not possible that the chairman of the trust that runs the school must not know what was happening in his school, he asked whether he was being protected and not arrested just because he was close to the BJP.