Jaipur: Congress workers on Thursday staged a protest march in Jaipur over the NEET UG 2026 paper leak case, targeting the BJP and demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for compromising students' future.
The protest march was taken out from the Congress State Office towards the BJP Headquarters, led by Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee President Govind Singh Dotasra. Several senior leaders, including Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully, MLAs and MPs, participated in the demonstration.
As the protest escalated, police used water cannons to disperse the agitators near the BJP office.
Speaking during the protest, Dotasra alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had already flagged irregularities in the NEET examination process in Parliament in 2024.
"In 2024, Rahul Gandhi said in the Lok Sabha that NEET papers are being stolen, the future of lakhs of children is being compromised, and to hold a discussion on it. These people did not hold a discussion on these because these people were the paper thieves themselves... Now, we will ensure we get the resignation," Dotasra said.
Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan Assembly, Tikaram Jully, also attacked the Centre and demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
"BJP is running a dictatorship. Dharmendra Pradhan should resign. PM Modi has not said a word on this. The Education Minister here is saying that this is not a big deal. BJP office-bearers have been found to be involved in this. These people are trying to protect paper leak mafias instead of taking any action against them," Jully said.
The protest comes amid heightened political tensions over NEET UG 2026, which was cancelled on May 12 following allegations of a coordinated paper leak. The exam, conducted on May 3 across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad, saw participation from over 22 lakh candidates.
The Union Education Ministry has ordered strengthened security measures for the upcoming re-examination scheduled on June 21. Officials have also indicated that NEET-UG will be conducted in computer-based test (CBT) mode from next year to prevent such irregularities.
Meanwhile, a parliamentary standing committee headed by senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has also initiated scrutiny into the matter, stating it will investigate the causes behind repeated exam-related controversies affecting millions of students.
This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.
