Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has come out in support of medical professionals and MBBS graduates who are calling for the (National Eligibility Entrance Test for Postgraduate) NEET PG 2022 to be postponed. In a tweet, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi tagged Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, requesting him to relieve applicants of mental stress by postponing the exam.
The exam is set to take place on May 21. The Supreme Court will hear a petition seeking a delay of NEET PG 2022 on May 13. Candidates have requested that it be postponed by six to eight weeks, claiming a lack of time for preparation since the NEET PG 2021 counselling procedure concludes late.
“Due to the delay in counseling of NEETPG2021, the candidates of NEETPG2022 are putting forward a very legitimate demand to postpone the examination by a few weeks. Please relieve these youths from mental stress by taking the step of postponing the exam for a few weeks. #POSTPONENEETPG2022,” tweeted Gandhi.
The NEET-PG 2022 exam was originally set for March but was postponed to May 21 due to numerous requests from doctors and students to postpone the exam. A false circular indicating that NEET PG 2022 has been postponed to July 9 was also doing the rounds. However, the government’s fact-checking agency, PIB Fact Check, stated that the circular is a forgery and that the exam has not been rescheduled.
Aspirants have been requesting delay of the NEET PG 2022 exam, saying that NEET counselling 2021 is still ongoing, leaving only a short time between the counselling and the following exam. Furthermore, the application forms are not currently available, and doctors who passed NEET PG 2021 with a lower rank are still awaiting counselling; however, if they do not receive a seat, they will be unable to apply for NEET PG 2022. This will cost them a year.
Aspirants further claim that 5000 interns will be disqualified from taking the exam because they served during the Covid-19 pandemic. They will be able to do so if the exam is extended.
Senior counsel Rakesh Khanna filed the petition in the Supreme Court, which will be considered on May 13, on behalf of doctors who want the NEET PG to be postponed. Justices DY Chandrachud and PS Narasimha will hear the petition. The petitioners are asking for a “fair chance” for candidates to take the exam.
