JULY 21, 2019 • THE WEEK 15A NEET GAIN
The National Eligibility cum
Entrance Test, for students
who wish to enrol in medical
colleges, has question papers
that are leak-proof. But the
information given by millions
of examinees to the Union
government has been leaked.
Candidates who scored below
the cut-off mark have found
themselves bombarded with
calls from agents offering
discounts for admission to
private universities—not
just in India, but in countries
like China, Ghana and the
Philippines as well. It appears
that someone who processed
their application forms made a
fast buck by selling confidential
information to the student-
hunters.
DEVOTED TO VOTERS
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal recently interacted with a
group of senior citizens waiting to
go on a pilgrimage under the
Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra
Yojana, the state govern-
ment’s scheme for elderly
pilgrims. He asked them
to consider him as their
son, perhaps taking inspira-
tion from the mythological tale
of Shravan, who helped his blind
parents go on a pilgrimage. Kejri-
wal also promised the gathering
that he and Deputy Chief Min-
ister Manish Sisodia, along with
their families, would join them in
their journey to the Vaishno Devi
temple in Jammu and Kashmir in
late July.BEAMING A SIGNAL
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is winning admirers
on both sides of the political divide. The treasury
benches are happy that Birla is strict in conducting
proceedings and quelling disruptions. The
opposition benches are glad that more newcomers
have had the chance to speak. A two-time MP,
Birla has maintained discipline without ruffling
the feathers of senior MPs. He has also developed
his own style in signalling members who exceed
their allotted speaking time. A Congress MP from
Punjab recently asked Birla to “delay” his smile for
two minutes, so that he could finish his speech.
According to the MP, Birla smiles whenever he
wants members to wind up.