‘Crime against youth’: Opposition fumes over NEET-UG cancellation
Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal, attacked the Centre after NEET-UG 2026 was cancelled over alleged paper leaks. They accused the government and NTA of administrative failure
New Delhi: 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 ‘amrit kaal’ has turned into a ‘vish kaal’ (poison-filled era) for the country.
He said the hard work, sacrifices, and dreams of more than 22 lakh students have been “crushed by this corrupt BJP regime”.
In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, “The NEET 2026 examination has been cancelled. The hard work, sacrifices, and dreams of more than 22 lakh students have been crushed by this corrupt BJP regime. Some fathers took loans, some mothers sold their jewellery, lakhs of children stayed up all night studying, and in return, they got paper leaks, government negligence, and organised corruption in education.” “This is not just a failure-it’s a crime against the future of the youth,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
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,” the AAP supremo said.
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 mindlessly promoting itself, incapable of daily administration,” Ghose wrote.
Rashtriya Janata Dal Rajya Sabha member Manoj Jha also lashed out at the NTA, posting on X, “Do anything but first dismantle NTA, NEET.” Talking to PTI Videos, Jha said the agency was “incapable” and recalled that he had earlier raised the issue in Parliament.
“I had said in Parliament, throw it in Bay of Bengal. Have you ever thought about the impact on students coming from ordinary backgrounds? The CBI probe is an eyewash. This is extremely insensitive,” he said.
“Democracy is not just fighting and winning elections. How sensitive are you towards the people,” Jha asked.
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member John Brittas said repeated failures in national examinations were eroding public trust in the system.
“NEET cancellation is yet another blow to lakhs of students who put in years of hard work. Repeated failures in national exams are destroying trust in the system. Government must fix this broken process as our youth deserve better,” he said in his X post.
RJD spokesperson Priyanka Bharti linked the latest controversy to earlier allegations of paper leaks connected to Bihar.
“When the NEET paper leak happened in 2024, a connection to Bihar had emerged back then too. Once again, in the NEET paper leak case, three people from Bihar have been arrested. One MBBS doctor was also involved in this,” she said.
“How does Bihar’s name keep coming up every time,” Bharti asked.
