Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday delayed his departure from the Delhi Airport for nearly 45 minutes to avoid traffic disruptions for students appearing for the NEET re-examination today.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly stayed at Delhi Airport after arriving at 1:15 pm instead of immediately heading to his residence, as the NEET examination was set to begin at 2 pm, sources told news agency ANI.

The move was aimed at ensuring that students faced no inconvenience in reaching their examination centres and that traffic movement remained smooth.

The Prime Minister was returning from his two-day trip of Odisha and West Bengal during which, among other events, he participated in a programme in Kolkata on the occasion of International Yoga Day on Sunday.

Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar lauded PM Modi’s decision to wait at the Delhi Airport, saying, “For some, power means privilege. For PM Narendra Modi, it means responsibility. Choosing to wait at the airport so NEET aspirants could travel smoothly to their examination centres reflects a leadership style that puts citizens first."

More than 22 lakh candidates appeared for the NEET UG re-examination on Sunday, after the original May 3 exam was cancelled due to a question paper leak. The National Testing Agency (NTA) has put in place extensive security and surveillance arrangements for the examination.

The examination began at 2 pm and will conclude at 5:15 pm. Candidates with disabilities (PwD/PwBD) eligible for compensatory time will be allowed to write the examination till 6.20 pm.

The examination is being conducted across 5,440 centres in 551 cities in India and 14 centres abroad. It is being conducted in English and 12 Indian languages. According to NTA, more than 95,000 examination rooms have been equipped with CCTV surveillance.

Source: News18