Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Sunday reiterated his call to sack Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not dismissing him despite repeated failures.
This was the second consecutive day that the Congress MP trained his guns on the government over the paper leak, demanding Pradhan’s resignation.
Gandhi questioned PM Modi’s silence on the matter. “Why aren’t you dismissing the Education Minister who keeps failing repeatedly?” he said in a post on X.
The Rae Bareli MP drew a comparison between the NEET paper leaks of 2024 and 2026, arguing that little has changed due to a persistent lack of accountability. The only difference this time, he pointed out, was that no re-examination had been conducted in 2024.
In his first direct attack on PM Modi and Pradhan over the issue on Saturday, Gandhi said that 22 lakh NEET students had been betrayed and asked the Prime Minister to either remove the Education Minister immediately or take responsibility himself.
He accused Pradhan of refusing to take responsibility for the controversy.
“Dharmendra Pradhan ji, India’s Education Minister, says he has nothing to do with this. A committee had made a recommendation, but they threw it in the dustbin. They said people from the Opposition are sitting in the committee. That doesn’t mean anything,” he said in a video posted on X.
The Congress leader further alleged that a nexus involving the RSS, BJP, and university officials had damaged the country’s education system.
“This is a nexus — RSS, BJP, and their colleagues at our universities: Vice Chancellors and Professors. There exists this nexus of making money between them, and they have destroyed Hindustan’s education system,” Gandhi said.
The NEET-UG – meant for aspirants seeking admissions to medical colleges – held on May 3 was cancelled following irregularities in the examination process, triggering huge protests from several quarters across the country.
The government has announced a re-test on June 21. However, the controversy has raised serious concerns regarding the credibility and security of one of India’s largest entrance examinations.
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