Kharge’s comments were in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks in Mumbai on Saturday, where he said that the creation of eight crore new jobs in the last three to four years has “silenced” those spreading fake narratives about unemployment.
In a post on X, Kharge reminded Modi of his announcement regarding the NRA in August 2020, where he said, “NRA will prove to be a boon for crores of youths. Through the Common Eligibility Test, it will eliminate multiple examinations and save precious time as well as resources. This will also give a big boost to transparency.”
Kharge then posed three questions, asking why the NRA has not conducted any exams in the last four years, why only Rs 58 crore has been spent out of the allocated Rs 1,517.57 crore, and whether the NRA was deliberately kept inactive to deprive SC, ST, OBC, and EWS youth of their reservation rights.
Kharge further alleged that the NTA was used for “fraud, paper leak and scam,” while the NRA was not even allowed to conduct any exams. The Congress president also mentioned that the party had previously raised the issue of the NRA, but the Modi government had remained silent on the matter.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also cited a media report claiming the NRA had not been able to conduct a single exam despite spending Rs 58 crore in the last four years. He also added that the central government had announced the ‘one country, one exam’ initiative for the youth in 2020 and handed over the responsibility to the NRA with great fanfare, but the agency has failed to deliver, much like the NTA.
The NTA is facing allegations of irregularities in national competitive exams. The NEET-UG exam, conducted by NTA, has been marred by accusations of malpractice, including alleged paper leaks and questionable marking methods, leading to widespread anger and demonstrations across the country. As a result, certain students were instructed to retake the NEET-UG exam.