PM, Education Minister must be held accountable for ‘cover-up’: Congress on NTA claims on NEET exam

Youth Congress members during a protest against the NEET exam in Bengaluru on Thursday, May 21, 2026. | Photo credit: The Hindu

The Congress on Friday (May 22, 2026) said it was shocked by NTA top officials’ claims that the NEET exam paper was “not leaked”, and said both the “Pradhan Mantri” and the “Mantri Pradhan” must be held accountable for this “cover-up”.

The Congress also said that the National Testing Agency (NTA) has become the “National Trauma Agency” and accused the government of colluding with the paper leak mafia to suppress the truth about irregularities and fraud.

Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, said that an “estimate paper” containing questions that appeared in the actual exam was circulating among students much before the exam date.

Since the establishment of NTA in 2018, the Modi government and its ecosystem have colluded with the paper leak mafia to suppress the truth about the rampant irregularities and fraud in exams conducted by NTA.

Today we learned from media reports that the Director General of NTA claimed…

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) May 22, 2026

“Since the inception of NTA in 2018, the Modi government and its ecosystem have colluded with the paper leak mafia to suppress the truth about rampant irregularities and fraud in exams conducted by NTA,” he said in his post.

Also read | Congress workers clashed with police in Jaipur during an action against NEET-UG paper leak

“Today, we learned from media reports that the Director General of NTA claimed to a parliamentary committee yesterday that the NEET-UG 2026 examination was not leaked.

If true, it’s scandalous and shockingly dishonest – because it’s clear that a “guess paper” containing dozens of questions that appeared on the actual exam was circulated among students long before the exam date. If that’s not a leak, what is? Why is the Modi government trying to deny it now?” said Mr. Ramesh.

He alleged that the Modi government had earlier tried to “cover up” the widespread irregularities that surfaced in NEET-UG 2024 as well.

“Had she faced the truth and taken action, the tragedy of NEET 2026 could have been avoided. The same hotbeds of reported cheating that emerged in 2024 – like Rajasthan’s Sikar – were also implicated in the 2026 scandal,” he said.

In another episode of the same “disturbing series”, the Congress leader said that the CBI has also submitted a final report which claims that there were no irregularities in the 2024 UGC-NET examination, which was then quashed by the NTA.

Asked by the Delhi court to provide a written explanation for its closure report, the CBI has sought more time, he said.

“While the court has thankfully pulled up the CBI for this delay, the CBI’s actions do not inspire any confidence in the agency’s motivation to live up to its ongoing investigation into NEET.

“For thousands of aspiring youth in our country, NTA has become the National Trauma Agency,” said Ramesh.

CBSE, NCERT and other education ministry institutions (including central universities) are no better, he said.

“The Minister of Education presides over a system in which professional excellence is discounted and where ideological affinity takes precedence,” he declared.

“Both the Pradhan Mantri and the Mantri Pradhan must be held accountable for this colossal tragedy and its continued cover-up,” Mr. Ramesh said.

Several members of Parliament grilled top NTA officials on Thursday, with the agency’s director general telling them that the NEET-UG paper had not penetrated their system and the CBI was probing the matter, sources said.

During a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, several MPs questioned NTA officials about the steps they have taken to strengthen the examination system to prevent paper leaks in the future.

Published – 22 May 2026 12:05 PM IST