Hyderabad: Members of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) staged a protest outside the Hyderabad residence of Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Thursday, demanding accountability from the Central Government over the alleged leak of the NEET-UG 2026 question paper.
The protest came days after the Centre cancelled the NEET-UG 2026 examination conducted on May 3 amid allegations of paper leak, announcing that the country’s biggest undergraduate medical entrance test will be re-conducted on dates to be notified separately.
The demonstrators raised slogans against the Central Government and demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, holding him directly responsible for the repeated failure to secure the integrity of the examination. The NSUI demanded the immediate resignation of the Union Minister and the dissolution of the NTA, calling for a return to state-conducted entrance tests.
The NTA cancelled NEET-UG 2026 following allegations that questions from a circulated “guess paper” closely matched those in the examination conducted on May 3. The Centre referred the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation for a detailed probe into the alleged irregularities.
The CBI arrested five accused and conducted searches at several locations across the country in connection with the paper leak. The Rajasthan Special Operations Group also arrested alleged masterminds Manish Yadav and Rakesh Mandavriya in connection with the case.
The Telangana Youth Congress separately staged a protest against the paper leak, with demonstrators burning effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and demanding their resignations.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy also weighed in, saying the paper leaks have “demonetised” students’ futures and caused widespread distress, and urged a transparent, time-bound probe by the Centre and NTA with strict action against those responsible. Nearly 22.79 lakh students who appeared for the examination across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad now face renewed anxiety over the cancellation.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan refused to answer questions from the media regarding the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination amid allegations of paper leak and examination irregularities.
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