BJP leader Prakash Reddy on Saturday criticized the opposition for questioning the Central government over the cancellation of NEET UG 2026 exam following reports of question bank leak and said while the Congress never took action on such matters during its tenure, the ruling BJP initiated a CBI inquiry.
Speaking to ANI, the BJP leader shed light on the details of the investigation and said that seven accused, including the main accused, have been arrested. Defending the government, he reiterated the Centre’s decision to conduct the NEET-UG exam in CBT mode starting from 2027 and rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “political allegations”.
He said “In independent India, question papers of competitive examinations were leaked several times in different parts of the country, but the then ruling Congress government did not take any action. However, the Government of India initiated a CBI investigation in this matter and yesterday the main accused was identified. He is a resident of Pune and is currently in jail, while seven other people have already been arrested. The Government of India has clearly announced that the examination will be conducted online next year to stop the question paper leak. Rahul Gandhi’s political allegations are of no use. There will be no benefit.”
His comments come after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Friday launched a scathing attack on the central government after the National Testing Agency (NTA) canceled the NEET-UG 2026 exam, scheduled to be held on May 3.
In a post on ED registered 17 cases, ED registered 11 cases – no one was convicted.”
Targeting the government, Gandhi asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi how many more such incidents would be needed to ensure accountability.
Meanwhile, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced that NTA will conduct the re-examination of NET-UG on June 21 and said that from next year, the exam will be conducted in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode as part of the reforms aimed at ensuring transparency. Pradhan assured the students that they will not allow unfair means to be used in the exam again and said that the government’s top priority is the future of the students.
Pradhan said, “Our top priority is the future of the students and the government is sensitive to their hard work and efforts. This time we will not allow any kind of inappropriate activity to happen. The government is with you. In the national interest, we had to take this difficult decision. We are very sad.”
Addressing a press conference, the Education Minister admitted that the question papers were sent in the name of “estimated question papers”. “The question papers have been sent in the name of estimated papers,” Pradhan said. He said the verification process began on May 8 and continued for the next four days, after which the Center decided to cancel the exam on May 12.