Opposition slams Govt over NEET-UG row

Opposition leaders on Tuesday attacked the Government after the cancellation of the NEET-UG examination, alleging administrative failure and insensitivity toward students, and also slammed the “repeated lapses” in the conduct of national-level competitive examinations.

Several Opposition leaders took to X questioning the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and demanding accountability over the recurring controversies surrounding entrance tests.

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 separately.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi targeted the Government over the cancellation, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s so-called mrit kaal has turned into a vish kaal (poison-filled era) for the country and this instance is “not just a failure — it’s a crime against the future of the youth”.

He said the hard work, sacrifices, and dreams of more than 22 lakh students have been “crushed by this corrupt BJP regime”.

He also alleged that Modi and the BJP are “partners in the theft” of students’ future.

“The only rule in the market where your hard work and dreams are being auctioned is this: the bigger the theft, the bigger the reward,” Gandhi said.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that the Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has destroyed the decades-old admission process by replacing it with a central agency that is rife with corruption and beyond Parliamentary accountability.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav questioned the credibility of conducting the examination and said what was the guarantee that papers won’t get leaked again if the test was re-conducted. He alleged that the examination system would continue to suffer from paper leaks as long as the BJP remained in power.

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal said affected students will have to resort to mass protests as the Government only understands the language of agitation.  

At a press conference, he alleged “political patronage” in paper leaks, saying the NEET question paper was leaked four times in the past nine years and none of the accused were punished.  

He said that paper leaks did not happen out of nowhere, as he alleged complicity of higher ups, and accused the Government of toying with the future of lakhs of students.  

“I want to tell the students that they will have to come out on the streets. This government understands only the language of mass agitation … Kejriwal is with you,” he said.  

BRS working president KT Rama Rao alleged that the NEET paper leak occurred due to the inefficiency of the NDA Government in conducting the exam in a foolproof manner and

demanded that it should apologise to the students and their parents.

Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Sagarika Ghose said the cancellation had thrown the lives of lakhs of students into “disarray and anxiety”.

In a post on X, she alleged there was “zero accountability” in the Narendra Modi government and accused it of being “incapable of daily administration”.

“More dispatches from the Double Engine. NEET-UG examination cancelled. Lakhs of students’ lives thrown into disarray and anxiety. No Governance and zero accountability of incompetent useless Narendra Modi regime, only