NEET row: Congress protests arrest of Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi in Moodbidri

Mangalore Today News Network

Moodbidri, Jul 23, 2026: The Moodbidri Block Congress staged a protest in front of the Taluk Administrative Office on Wednesday, condemning the arrest of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and other party members during protests over the alleged irregularities in the NEET examination. The demonstrators accused the BJP-led Central government of suppressing democratic voices.

Addressing the gathering, former minister Abhayachandra Jain said that many students across the country, who had dreamed of a bright future, were subjected to injustice due to the alleged irregularities in the NEET examination. He alleged that the Narendra Modi-led government had responded with repression instead of addressing the students’ concerns.

"The arrest of our leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi is condemnable. Congress workers will not tolerate such actions," he said.

Former MLA Mithun Rai alleged that students from Dakshina Kannada had also been affected by the NEET examination issues. He accused the Centre of treating protesting students in an authoritarian manner and demanded that the government respond to their concerns.

"The Central government must address the students’ demands, and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan should resign immediately. Congress will continue to stand with the students and intensify its protests. The Modi government, which is behaving like a dictatorship, is nearing its end," he said.

Moodbidri Block Congress President Praveen Kumar, General Secretary Purandara Devadiga, and several party leaders and workers, including Suresh Prabhu, Chandrahasa Sanil, Rukkayya Poojary, Jossey Menezes, Ramesh Shetty, Arun Kumar Shetty, Iqbal Karim, T.N. Kembare, Satish Kotyan, Rexon Pinto, Praveen Iruvail, Kumar Poojary, Pradeep Iruvail, Dinesh Prabhu Iruvail, Prashanth Amin, Savita T.N., Supriya D. Shetty, Dileep Kumar Shetty, Vasudev Nayak, Harish Acharya, Purushothama Nayak, Aneesh D’Souza, P.K. Thomas, Koragappa, Valerian Sequeira, Shekhar Bolli, Satish Bhandary, Suresh Kotyan, Varun, Latheef, Ashraf Marodi, Salam Hosangadi, Ganesh Shetty, Shahbaz Beluvai, Himayath and others participated in the protest.