A body of doctors was barred from the parliamentary panel’s deliberations on NEET following objections from the BJP

A police official walks past a poster during a protest organized by Youth Congress members against alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG medical entrance exam and demanding accountability from the central government at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, Karnataka. File. | Photo credit: PTI

The United Doctors Front (UDF), which has demanded the dissolution of the National Testing Agency (NTA), was not allowed to depose before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education headed by Congress President Digvijaya Singh on Monday (June 1, 2026) following protests by BJP MPs.

The Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, chaired by Congress leader Mr. Singh, has convened a meeting on issues related to National Eligibility for Entrance Test (NEET-UG) and functioning of NTA. She also considered the merits of “pencil and paper testing” versus “computer-based tests”. The agency has come under scrutiny following allegations of paper leaks and irregularities in the NEET-UG examination.

According to the official announcement, representatives of the UDF were named among the witnesses of the meeting. However, when they were about to be called, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Bhim Singh protested. According to sources, he claimed that the UDF’s stand on the matter was well known and that they were not neutral witnesses. The UDF has filed a case in the Supreme Court seeking to replace the NTA with an independent testing body with direct parliamentary oversight, strong anti-leakage mechanisms and comprehensive audits.

Other BJP members also supported Mr. Singh’s stand, saying the issue must not be politicized. Some of them also questioned the timing of these negotiations. Thereafter, the waiting UDF representatives were informed by Mr. Singh that they could not participate in the discussion.

UDF president Lakshya Mittal told reporters that the body had submitted the names of its representatives as well as a memorandum of demands a week in advance. “The NTA should be disbanded and a new investigative body should be created through an Act of Parliament. Such a body should be accountable to Parliament. Currently, the NTA is neither accountable nor has adequate oversight mechanisms,” said Dr. Mittal.

Mr. Singh declined to divulge details of the meeting, citing rules that prohibit publication of the discussions until the report is tabled in Parliament. However, on the issue of the paper leak, he reiterated the Congress demand for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. “The Prime Minister is so disgusted with Dharmendra Pradhan’s failures that he has taken all the responsibility himself,” Mr. Singh said.

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh also commented on the issue. In a post on X about the meeting, Mr. Ramesh wrote that the Solicitor General had informed the Supreme Court that the Prime Minister was personally monitoring the NEET review. While for the sake of the students we have to hope that the exam will be successful, Mr. Ramesh said that it is difficult for any reasonable person to believe in “Pradhan Mantri and his ‘system’. “This ‘system’ messed up the investigation into the NEET-UG 2024 paper leak. This ‘system’ continues to deny that the NEET-UG 2026 paper was leaked when the truth is clear to all. This ‘system’ has not only destroyed the administration of examinations in higher education, it has done so in CBSE as well,” he said.

Published – 01 Jun 2026 22:49 IST