Provide medical insurance to 30L NEET/JEE students: Abhishek tells Centre

Kolkata: Trinamool Youth Congress president Abhishek Banerjee demanded that the Centre should give medical insurance of 30 lakh students who will appear for NEET and JEE during the pandemic and a written undertaking must be given that it should be held responsible in case of any untoward incident.

Addressing a rally at the Gandhi statue to observe the foundation day of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) on Friday, he said: "It is most unfortunate that the Centre has put its ego above the interest of lakhs of students." He added: "When 30 lakh students are appearing for the exams, then more than 1.20 crore people are involved as this include their parents, those who will conduct the examination and those who will take them to the respective centres. Just the adamant attitude of the Centre has put so many people into sheer uncertainty and vulnerable to the infection which is on the rise."

He said the Prime Minister had said the infection would be controlled within 18 days but it is going up and if this trend continues, by the end of September more than 25 lakh people in India will be affected. "Will the Centre take responsibility of those who will fall sick while appearing for the examination, risking their lives," he asked.

Abhishek also said the double standard of the Centre has once again been exposed when the Prime Minister on one hand maintained that students are the future of the country and at the same time, exposed them to the infection and made them vulnerable. He further said the Centre would have waited till COVID-19 was over and then hold the examinations. If proper planning is made, students will not lose an academic year. He urged the students to raise 'No JEE, No NEET in COVID-19 pandemic' slogan.