‘Khilone Pe Charcha’: Rahul Slams PM Modi’s Silence on JEE, NEET

“JEE-NEET aspirants wanted the PM do ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ but the PM did ‘Khilone Pe Charcha’,” Gandhi said.

(Photo: Harsh Sahani/The Quint)

Minutes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed on the need for local toys in his monthly Maan Ki baaat programme, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi hit out at the prime minister saying that Modi had talked about ‘Khilone Pe Charcha’ when all that JEE Main and NEET aspirants wanted was ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’.

In a tweet, Gandhi said “JEE-NEET aspirants wanted the PM do ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ but the PM did ‘Khilone Pe Charcha’.”

The Backdrop

Gandhi’s tweet comes at a time when thousands of students have been taking to social media, urging the union Ministry of Education as well as the PM to postpone JEE Main and NEET UG in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the government has remained firm on its stand of conducting the two entrance exams, saying that any further delay would lead to the loss of an entire year and force double the number of students to compete for limited seats next year.

Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal, the Union Minister of Education, has also claimed that it is students and parents who want exams to be conducted in September without any further delay.

While JEE Main will be held from 1 to 6 September, NEET UG will be held on 13 September.

What did PM Modi say?

Noting that the global toy industry is worth over Rs 7 lakh crore but India's share is very small in the sector, PM Modi gave a clarion call to be "vocal for local toys", stressing on the need for making the country a toy hub.

“Let us team up for toys. This industry is quite diverse. We should focus on this industry. Small industries, MSMEs as well as big industries also come in its range. The entire country will have to work hard together to take the toy industry forward,” Modi added.

PM Modi in his<i> Maan Ki Baat</i> address.

The prime minister said that the toy industry is very diverse and some of the regions in India are being developed as toy clusters to make the nation a toy hub. Channapatna in Karnataka's Ramanagara, Kondapalli in Andhra Pradesh' Krishna, Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, Dhubri in Assam, and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh are among the places in India which are being developed in the toy sector.