Rahul wanted NEET re-exam to fail, says Dharmendra Pradhan

By Samira Vishwas On Jun 23, 2026

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan onTuesday (June 23) launched a sharp counter-offensive against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), accusing both of exploiting the NEET paper leak controversy for political ends rather than offering solutions to students.

Speaking to the media, Pradhan said he was “disappointed with Rahul’s behaviour in this whole episode,” accusing the Congress leader of playing “low-level politics” on a matter that directly affected millions of students. He alleged that Rahul had held a programme in Kota just three days before the NEET re-exam with the deliberate intent of unsettling students.

“The Opposition has the right to ask questions. But three days before the exam, Rahul Gandhi held a programme in Kota to scare students, to derail students’ preparations,” Pradhan said.

‘Congress wanted re-exam to fail’

Pradhan went further, alleging that Rahul and the Congress party had actively wanted the re-examination — held after the original May 3 exam was scrapped following paper leak allegations — to fail. The re-exam saw over 22 lakh NEET aspirants appear across the country. He described the re-exam as a success and said the National Testing Agency (NTA) had ensured a fair and transparent examination environment.

On the issue of student suicides linked to the paper leak row, Pradhan said, “As education minister, I curse myself every time there is a student suicide. We have to fix the broken system.”

Also Read: Student fury over NEET leaks: ‘Broken trust will translate into votes’

However, he described the Congress’s use of student deaths for political messaging as “abhorrent,” accusing the party of indulging in the “politics of abuse and allegation” without offering a single constructive suggestion. “I have not come across a single positive suggestion from Rahul Gandhi or the Congress on how to improve the system,” he said.

Addressing the controversy over a student being allotted an examination centre in Abu Dhabi, Pradhan said the centre had been assigned at the specific request of the student’s father and that the NTA had acted swiftly once the matter was flagged, reassigning the student to a centre in Nagpur within hours. He accused Rahul of deliberately misrepresenting the incident for political mileage and said the NTA’s fact-check had left the Congress leader “red-faced.”

CJP called disruptive ‘B team’

Turning his attention to the CJP, the satirical outfit that had been staging a sit-in protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar demanding his resignation, Pradhan was dismissive and combative in equal measure. “They are the B team of disruptive elements. Those who were rejected in the democracy have come in disguise and are now after the system. They raise slogans for those who want to divide the country. They have been identified,” he said.

Also Read: How to keep leaks away? CJP launches diaper drive as NEET protest enters Day 4

He added that some people simply do not have faith in the country’s progress, suggesting that both the Congress and outfits like the CJP were part of the same ecosystem of Opposition.

On the paper leak, Pradhan reserved particular condemnation for the educators found to have been involved, describing them as “protectors who turned predators.” He maintained that the government had taken corrective action wherever lapses were identified and rejected the opposition’s demand for his resignation.

Govt’s education push continues

Pradhan also used the interview to highlight what he described as the government’s positive education agenda, pointing to the implementation of the National Education Policy, rising female participation in education, and the growing number of institutions. He also referred to the Prime Minister’s newly launched Bharat Innovates platform as a flagship innovation initiative.

“Our priority is to accelerate education by focusing on India’s youth, the needs of the country and the world, and the aspirations of young people,” he said, drawing a pointed contrast with what he called decades of exploitation under Congress rule.