NEW DELHI : The proceedings of the Lok Sabha were adjourned for the day on Friday as the opposition demanded a discussion on the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the medical entrance exam NEET.

When the House reassembled at 12 noon, opposition members continued with their demand for a discussion on matters related to the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). Speaker Om Birla and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told opposition members that they can discuss the matter during the course of the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address.

Birla said there are certain norms of Parliament that have to be followed and committees have to be formed to which Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said students are not aware of it.

They are only demanding justice.

As members from the Congress, TMC and DMK parties stormed the Well, Rijiju said it is for the first time that the opposition is seen demanding a discussion on an issue before the House takes up the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address.

“I assure the opposition we will answer any issue that you raise during the Motion of Thanks discussion,” Rijiju said.  As members continued with sloganeering, Birla said the people have elected members to this House so that they can raise and discuss issues, and not disrupt the proceedings.

“There is a difference between protest on the road and protest inside the House…You (Opposition) don’t want House to run? You don’t want to discuss NEET during Motion of Thanks discussion?” Birla said. As the House continued to see uproar, Birla adjourned the proceedings till Monday.

Amid din, TMC member S K Nurul Islam took oath as a Lok Sabha member When the House met in morning, opposition members were on their feet seeking the acceptance of an adjournment motion to suspend all business and discuss matters related to NEET.

However, the Speaker said he would first take up the obituary references to 13 former members, including ex-Lok Sabha speaker and ex-Maharashtra chief minister Manohar Joshi.  When the obituary references were over, the opposition members were on their feet again.

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said the NEET issue is a very important issue for the whole country and they want a dedicated discussion in the House on the matter.  Hence, the adjournment motion should be accepted, he said.

However, Birla said he could not allow it as the House was about to take up the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament on Thursday.

“You can raise all matters in the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address. You will get enough time. But I can’t allow you to raise any other issue during the debate on the Motion of Thanks. It was already decided and mentioned in the bulletin too,” he said.

Lok Sabha during a special session at the Parliament House in New Delhi. Earlier on Friday, Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned till noon as opposition members created uproar and entered the Well of the House demanding an immediate discussion on the the issue of alleged irregularities in the NEET exam.

Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar did not approve of 22 notices by members from the opposition benches under a rule to suspend listed business of the day and hold discussion on the NEET issue.

Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge urged the Chairman to accept the demand for discussion. However, Dhankhar did not agree, and asked BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi to initiate the discussion on motion of thanks to the President’s address. As Trivedi started his speech, several opposition members entered the Well of the House raising slogans. They were also demanding resignation of the union education minister.

Dhankhar asked the opposition members standing in the Well to return to their seats. He also warned that they could be named. But the opposition did not relent, leading to adjournment of the proceedings till 12 noon.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET-UG was conducted by the NTA on May 5 with around 24 lakh candidates taking part in it. The results were announced on June 4, but they were followed by allegations of question paper leaks in states such as Bihar, besides other irregularities.

The Education Ministry also cancelled the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) and NEET (postgraduate) examinations after receiving inputs that the exams’ “integrity may have been compromised.

The incident was met with a wave of outrage by other regional leaders, including the Organization of American States, Chilean President Gabriel Boric, the leader of Honduras, and former Bolivian leaders.

Gustavo Flores-Macias, a professor of government and public policy focusing on Latin America at Cornell University, said it’s important that world leaders and organizations keep up their condemnation of the coup attempt as developments unfold.

“If we allow the interruption of the constitutional order to take place in Bolivia, it could serve a demonstration effect,” Flores-Macias said from New York in an interview with The Associated Press. “It could send a signal that if this is OK to happen in Bolivia, it could happen elsewhere.”

Bolivia has seen intensifying protests in recent months over the economy’s precipitous decline from one of the continent’s fastest-growing two decades ago to one of its most crisis-stricken. Arce and Morales have been battling for the future of Bolivia’s splintering Movement for Socialism, known by its Spanish acronym MAS, ahead of elections in 2025.

Following Wednesday’s chaos, reports on local media showed Bolivians stocking up on food and other essentials in supermarkets, concerned about what will come next. But addressing supporters outside the presidential palace, the country’s vice president, David Choquehuanca, vowed: “Never again will the Bolivian people permit coup attempts.”