New Delhi: With the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 triggering nationwide outrage, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday refused to directly answer repeated questions from reporters on accountability and whether the National Testing Agency (NTA) had failed to prevent another major paper leak controversy. The silence from the government came as protests intensified across several cities and lakhs of medical aspirants demanded clarity over the re-examination schedule.
The NEET-UG 2026 examination, held on May 3, was officially cancelled by the NTA following allegations that over 100 questions from biology and chemistry sections matched pre-circulated “guess papers”. The Centre has now handed over the matter to the CBI for investigation, while fresh examination dates are yet to be announced.
Students gathered outside Shastri Bhawan in Delhi and at coaching hubs in Rajasthan, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, accusing authorities of repeating the mistakes seen during the NEET 2024 controversy. Many aspirants said they were mentally exhausted after preparing for months only to see the examination scrapped days later.
Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday described the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 examination as a “crime against the future of the youth”.
“The hard work, sacrifices, and dreams of more than 22 lakh students have been crushed by this corrupt BJP regime,” he said.
“Some fathers took loans, some mothers sold their jewelry, lakhs of children stayed up all night studying, and in return, they got paper leaks, government negligence, and organized corruption in education,” he mentioned in a post on X.
Visuals shared online showed emotional students breaking down during protests, while student organisations including NSUI demanded the resignation of the education minister and called for the dismantling of the NTA.
The cancellation has also reignited scrutiny over the functioning of the NTA, which has faced criticism in recent years over multiple examination controversies, technical glitches and allegations of malpractice in national-level tests. Several major examinations, including recruitment and entrance tests, have faced disruptions in the last few years.
