New Delhi, May 13: The Congress on Wednesday demanded Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over the cancellation of the NEET-UG exam and called for a probe by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) into the “paper leak scandal”.
Congress’ youth wing chief Uday Bhanu Chib and president of its student’s wing NSUI Vinod Jakhar also demanded that the government provide appropriate compensation to the students affected by the cancellation of the examination.
“The NEET paper leak is a major issue. Over the last 10 years, 89 papers have been leaked, and re-examinations have been conducted 48 times. This implies that the government has completely abdicated its accountability towards the students,” Chib said at a press conference at the party headquarters here.
“If we were to put ourselves in the shoes of these students, perhaps we would be able to truly feel their pain. Students prepare diligently and sit for these exams, but when a paper gets leaked, they lose their faith in the system,” he said.
The Youth Congress president alleged that the BJP government is responsible for this failure.
“The BJP claims that Prime Minister Narendra Modi can halt a war between two nations; yet, the reality is that he is not even able to prevent paper leaks,” Chib said.
He further raised questions regarding who conducts the audits for the NTA (National Testing Agency) and on what basis contracts are awarded to private vendors.
“Our demands are that the education minister resign immediately, the government provide compensation to the affected students, and a JPC be constituted to investigate the NEET paper leak,” he said.
Jakhar claimed that Rajasthan served as the epicentre of this paper leak, and it has also come to light that the scandal enjoyed political patronage.
“What, ultimately, is the reason behind 89 paper leaks occurring over the last 10 years — including four instances of the NEET papers being leaked — and re-examinations being held 48 times? These incidents raise serious questions about the integrity of our education system. Our students have realized that the Modi government has failed. Consequently, there is immense frustration among the student community,” he said.
The NTA on Tuesday cancelled the NEET (UG) 2026 exam held on May 3 amid allegations of paper leak, with the government asking the CBI to carry out a comprehensive inquiry into the “irregularities”.
The examination for students seeking admission to undergraduate courses in medical colleges will now be held afresh on dates to be notified in the “next seven to 10 days”.
In a statement on X, the NTA said the decision was taken in the interest of maintaining transparency and preserving trust in the national examination system.
The NEET-UG 2026 examination was held on May 3 across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad. The examination was organised by the NTA for nearly 23 lakh registered candidates at centres across the country. (PTI)
