NSUI members and supporters stage a protest against the alleged NEET 2026 scam in Delhi on May 12, 2026. | Photo credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
The cancellation of the National Eligibility Test (Graduate) 2026 amid allegations of paper leaks and examination irregularities sparked a political firestorm on Tuesday, with Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP of being “partners in stealing” the future of students.
Opposition parties accused the Narendra Modi government of failing to secure the future of millions of students and demanded accountability from the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the exams.
NEET-UG 2026 Cancelled: Watch LIVE updates on 12th May 2026
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge demanded strict action against the officials responsible for the leak. “This also damages the reputation of our students as people can say that they passed the exam by copying,” Mr. Kharge told reporters.
In a post on X, Mr Gandhi said the hard work, sacrifices and dreams of more than 22 lakh students were “crushed by this corrupt BJP regime”. “Some fathers took out loans, some mothers sold their jewelry, millions of children stayed up all night studying, and in return they missed papers, government negligence and organized corruption in education,” he said in his post.
Describing the development as “not just a failure” but a “crime against the future of the youth”, Mr Gandhi claimed that “paper mobsters” had repeatedly escaped punishment while honest students suffered psychological stress, financial burden and uncertainty due to the examination process.
“If one’s destiny is not determined by hard work but by money and connections, what significance will education have? The so-called Amrit Kaal of the Prime Minister has turned into a Vish Kaal (poison-filled era) for the country,” Gandhi said.
Referring to the 2024 NEET controversy, in the following post he urged students to do an online search to find out where the then NTA chief was currently posted. “See this? Get it now? BJP is rewarding those who play with the future of millions of hardworking students by protecting and supporting them. It is clear that Modi ji and BJP are themselves partners in stealing your future,” he said.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India also condemned the alleged paper leak and demanded structural reforms in the examination system. In separate statements, the CPI(M) and the CPI said thousands of students were subjected to severe psychological distress due to repeated irregularities in the national examinations.
The CPI(M) demanded dissolution of the NTA, decentralization of investigations through government agencies, a comprehensive inquiry into the leak and strict punishment of those responsible.
Calling the cancellation of the test evidence of the “collapse” of the examination system, CPI general secretary D. Raja reiterated the party’s opposition to the NEET, calling it “unfair and discriminatory”. He argued that repeated cheating and cancellation of exams disproportionately harms poor and rural students while benefiting coaching centers and privileged sections.
Former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal alleged “political patronage” behind the repeated paper leaks and said the NEET question had been leaked four times in the last nine years. “I want to tell the students that they will have to come to the streets. This government only understands the language of mass agitation,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Sagarika Ghose said the cancellation had thrown the lives of millions of students into “disorder and anxiety”. In a post on X, she claimed there was “zero accountability” in the Modi government and described the administration as “incapable of day-to-day governance”.
Published – 12 May 2026 22:30 IST
