NEET leak row: Padmaraj blames Centre, demands Education Minister’s resignation

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Jul 24, 2026: KPCC General Secretary Padmaraj R. Poojary on Friday alleged that the Centre’s failure to prevent the NEET question paper leak has forced students across the country to take to the streets in protest. He also condemned the alleged police action against students and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the protests, saying it reflected an "authoritarian mindset" and raised serious concerns about the state of democracy in the country.

Addressing a press conference at the Dakshina Kannada District Congress office in Mangaluru, Padmaraj said the Union Government must accept moral responsibility for the incident and seek the resignation of the Union Education Minister if it has any sense of accountability.

He said the entire world had witnessed, through social media, the manner in which students protesting in Delhi were allegedly treated. Claiming that BJP workers were used to suppress the protest, he compared the visuals to the atrocities committed by the British during India’s freedom struggle, including the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. "These incidents make one wonder whether the BJP has lost all sense of humanity," he said.

Referring to allegations that foreign funding and terrorists were behind the student protests, Padmaraj questioned the Centre’s claims. "If such serious allegations are being made, is the BJP governing the country or merely watching? Are intelligence agencies functioning only to target the Opposition?" he asked.

Criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent statement describing students as the nation’s assets, Padmaraj said the events in Delhi contradicted those words. He said while authorities may act within the law if a peaceful protest turns violent, videos circulating on social media allegedly showed female students being assaulted and their clothes being torn. He added that visuals of students pleading with police and security personnel were deeply disturbing.

Padmaraj said Rahul Gandhi has been engaging with students on issues such as the NEET paper leak and education policy while attempting to instil confidence in them. "The BJP should have learnt from that approach," he said, adding that 22 students had allegedly died by suicide in connection with the NEET paper leak issue, which he described as the result of the Centre’s failure and "nothing short of murder."

He further alleged that since the BJP came to power in 2014 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the National Testing Agency (NTA), established to conduct examinations such as NEET, had witnessed repeated lapses. Claiming that 152 examination papers, including NEET, had been leaked so far, he demanded that the Centre explain what action had been taken against the autonomous agency and those responsible for the alleged irregularities.

While urging students to remain vigilant, Padmaraj cautioned them against becoming tools in the hands of political parties. "Never become victims of political interests," he said.

Congress leaders Appi, T.K. Sudheer, Jayasheela Adyanthaya, Premanath and Samarth Bhat were also present at the press conference.

Padmaraj also spoke about the alleged financial irregularities related to the Ram Temple trust in Ayodhya. Stating that India is founded on religious faith and recalling how donations, including bricks and ₹1.25, were collected from households across the country for the Ram Temple movement, he demanded that, apart from constituting an SIT, the trust should make public an audit report detailing how public donations were utilised.