New Delhi: The Congress asked on Friday whether the lowering of the cut-off percentile for admission to post-graduate medical courses through the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) was done to benefit private medical colleges.

"The Modi government has yet again reduced the cut-off percentile for admission to PG in medical colleges through NEET," All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X, citing media reports.

"The unofficial explanation is that this is done because the majority of leftover seats are in non-clinical branches for which there is little demand," he added.

"But this move also raises serious doubts as to whether the lowering of cut-offs benefits only private medical colleges," the Congress leader said.

Ramesh cited a media report, claiming that the government has decided to drastically reduce the cut-off percentile for admission to postgraduate (PG) seats in medical colleges after the first two rounds of counselling due to several seats going vacant.