NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Sunday upped the ante against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak and questioned why Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan had not been removed from office.Also Read | ‘Sack Dharmendra Pradhan now’: Rahul Gandhi says NEET paper leak ‘betrayed’ 22 lakh aspirantsIn a post on X, Rahul compared the handling of the 2024 and 2026 NEET paper leak cases and asked PM Modi to answer questions raised by the nation. “NEET 2024: The paper was leaked. The exam wasn’t cancelled. The minister didn’t resign. The CBI launched an investigation. A committee was formed. NEET 2026: The paper was leaked. The exam was cancelled. The minister still didn’t resign. The CBI is investigating again. Another committee will be formed,” the Congress leader said.“Modi ji, the nation has some questions for you — answer them! Why are paper leaks happening again and again? Why are you silent on this repeated ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’? Why haven’t you sacked the education minister who’s failing time and again?” he added.Also Read | ‘Leader of opposition has right to suggest’: BJP ally on Rahul Gandhi’s NEET chargesThe National Testing Agency on Tuesday cancelled NEET-UG 2026, conducted on May 3, after investigators found evidence that several questions similar to those in the examination paper had been circulated before the test.The government later handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation, while the examination will now be reconducted on June 21.The cancellation has affected nearly 23 lakh aspirants and marks the first time the entire NEET-UG examination has been scrapped since the NTA took over conducting the test in 2019. In 2024, the exam was partially reconducted for 1,563 students following discrepancies in marks.Meanwhile, the CBI on Saturday arrested another alleged mastermind in the case. The accused, identified as Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, is a senior Botany teacher from Pune, Maharashtra.According to the agency, Mandhare was arrested in Delhi after questioning. Investigators alleged that she was the source of leaked Biology questions in the medical entrance examination.The CBI said Mandhare was associated with the NEET-UG 2026 examination process and had been appointed by the NTA as an expert, giving her access to Botany and Zoology question papers.Rahul Gandhi had also questioned the Centre on Friday over the rising number of suicides linked to the NEET paper leak controversy. Referring to the death of a 21-year-old student in Uttar Pradesh who allegedly died by suicide after the exam cancellation, he said, “These youngsters didn’t lose to the exams; they were killed by a corrupt system. This isn’t suicide — it’s murder by the system.”
