Opposition parties attack govt after NEET-UG cancellation

New Delhi: Opposition leaders on Tuesday attacked the government after the cancellation of the NEET-UG examination, alleging administrative failure and insensitivity toward students, and also slammed the “repeated lapses” in the conduct of national-level competitive examinations.

Several Opposition leaders took to X questioning the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and demanding accountability over the recurring controversies surrounding entrance tests.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi targeted the government over the cancellation, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s so-called ‘amrit kaal’ has turned into a ‘vish kaal’ (poison-filled era) for the country and this instance is “not just a failure – it’s a crime against the future of the youth”.

He said the hard work, sacrifices, and dreams of more than 22 lakh students have been “crushed by this corrupt BJP regime”.

“The only rule in the market where your hard work and dreams are being auctioned is this: the bigger the theft, the bigger the reward,” Gandhi said.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav questioned the credibility of conducting the examination and said what was the guarantee that papers won’t get leaked again if the test was re-conducted.

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal said affected students will have to resort to mass protests as the government only understands the language of agitation.  

At a press conference, he alleged “political patronage” in paper leaks, saying the NEET question paper was leaked four times in the past nine years and none of the accused were punished.  

BRS working president KT Rama Rao alleged that the NEET paper leak occurred due to the inefficiency of the NDA government in conducting the exam in a foolproof manner and demanded that it should apologise to the students and their parents.

Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Sagarika Ghose said the cancellation had thrown the lives of lakhs of students into “disarray and anxiety”.

In a post on X, she alleged there was “zero accountability” in the Narendra Modi government and accused it of being “incapable of daily administration”.

RJD national working president Tejashwi Yadav said the future of 23 lakh students “has once again been toyed with”.

“Does the BJP government lack even the basic administrative

capacity, competence, willpower, and skill to conduct a simple exam without a paper leak in an orderly manner?” Yadav said in a post on X.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) demanded the immediate disbanding of the NTA, accusing it of repeatedly failing to conduct examinations in a credible manner.

CPI Rajya Sabha member P Sandosh Kumar, in a statement, strongly condemned the government and the NTA for pushing lakhs of students into uncertainty and distress.

He also demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe.