Listen to "students ke 'mann ki baat'": Rahul Gandhi to govt

New Delhi : Using Prime Minister Narendra Modi's famous radio show tag line as a spin off, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday urged the central government to hear "students ke mann ki baat" and postpone the JEE and the NEET in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Government of India must listen to the #StudentsKeMannKiBaat about NEET, JEE exams and arrive at an acceptable solution," Rahul Gandhi tweeted a day before the matter is posted to be heard in the Supreme Court.

Rahul Gandhi showed support to students' demand one day before Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a petition by parents for deferring the exams.

The tweet from Rahul Gandhi comes hours after Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also made a similar request and urged government to postpone the examination or make alternate arrangements.

However, sources suggest that the central government plans to go ahead with the exams - for which lakhs of students appear nationwide - as per schedule as admit cards have already been issued and majority students have downloaded them.

The top court has already dismissed another petition by students to defer JEE and NEET exams saying, "The careers of students cannot be put under jeopardy. Life cannot be stopped...Covid may continue for a year more. Are you going to wait another year?"

The JEE (Main) exam is scheduled to be held between September 1 and September 6. The NEET exam has been penciled in for September 13.