‘Inconvenience’, ‘half-truths’: Tejasvi Surya vs Priyank Kharge over Congress rally ‘disrupting’ NEET exam in Bengaluru

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya and mysore place government minister Priyank Kharge meshed in a het battle on Sunday after the former targeted the Congress for organising a mega rally in the city on the day of the NEET exams, which allegedly caused students to miss the exams on time due to "massive traffic disruption".In response to Surya’s allegations, Kharge, without taking the MP’s name, referred to him as "serial misinformation MP" and termed his allegation as “half-truths and manufactured outrage.”The event which Surya was referring to was Congress's mega convention at Palace Grounds in the state capital Bengaluru, organised in connection with B K Hariprasad taking charge as the party's new state president.Tejasvi Surya’s allegationsIn a post on X, Tejasvi Surya said, “The Congress party could have chosen any other day for its rally at Palace Grounds. Instead, it chose the very day thousands of students are appearing for NEET. As massive traffic disruptions choked Bengaluru, many students were delayed, some reaching exam centres in panic and having to plead with authorities to be allowed inside.” He said, thankfully, examination authorities accommodated them and provided compensatory time.Surya alleged that for weeks, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been shedding "crocodile tears" over students and examinations."Had his concern been genuine, his party would have avoided holding a mega political rally in the heart of the city at the exact time of one of India's most important entrance exams," the Bengaluru South MP said."Students deserve sensitivity, not political theatrics. Concern for students cannot be a slogan in Delhi and an inconvenience in Bengaluru," he added.Priyank Kharge’s responseHitting back at Tejasvi Surya, Karnataka home minister Priyank Kharge, without taking the MP's name, said, "As usual, the serial misinformation MP is doing what he does best: spreading half-truths and manufactured outrage."Kharge said that a total of 720 students were allotted RC College as their NEET examination centre. Of these, 142 were absent. Three students missed the examination. One student, travelling from Magadi, could not get a bus on time and reached the centre late, resulting in her missing the exam, he said in a post on X."Another candidate arrived with an old hall ticket belonging to the examination conducted on May 3, and therefore was not permitted to write the exam," the home minister added. According to Kharge, only one candidate travelling from the RT Nagar side missed the exam, and the exact reason is still being ascertained."The Bengaluru Traffic Police had issued public notifications and traffic advisories well in advance," he pointed out.Kharge said that the BJP MP, who is "overflowing with concern" for students missing exams for different reasons, was conveniently silent when his own "incompetent government" allowed more than 22 lakh students to suffer due to NEET mismanagement, paper leaks and chaos, with over 10 students reportedly dying by suicide."By the BJP MP's own logic, if a student missing exam today must be blamed on the Congress rally, then Modi (PM) and Dharmendra Pradhan (Union Minister) must be held directly responsible for the paper leaks, student distress and deaths and must be thrown out of office," he said."Unfortunately for the empty trunk MP, there are no emergency exits here for him to open and escape through after making a baseless allegation," he added.