"NTA failed": Congress leader Randeep Surjewala slams Education Minister over NEET exam row

New Delhi [India], May 16 (ANI): Amid the row over NEET-UG exam cancellation, senior Congress leader Randeep Surjewala on Friday launched a sharp attack on the Central government, demanding the resignation of the Union Education Minister and the dismissal of the National Testing Agency (NTA) chief.
Highlighting the repeated failures in conducting the NEET examination, Surjewala claimed that the paper has been leaked three times under the current leadership.

Speaking at a presser on Friday, Surjewala dubbed the NTA a "failed body," levelling serious allegations regarding its efficiency, impartiality, and overall capacity to conduct high-stakes national exams.
"Why shouldn't the Education Minister, under whose leadership the NEET paper has been leaked three times, resign? And the NTA, which conducts NEET, has failed as a body; they have proven themselves to be a failure. There are serious questions regarding the NTA's efficiency, impartiality, and capacity to conduct exams--on all three fronts. So, why shouldn't the NTA chief be dismissed, or why hasn't his resignation been sought, when under his leadership our NEET paper was sold off in this manner, involving fraud of crores and billions of rupees, ruining children's careers?" he said.
This comes after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday announced that the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination would be conducted on June 21.
Addressing a press conference, Pradhan assured students that the government would not allow malpractice to recur and said the Centre remained committed to protecting the interests of students.
"Our topmost priority is the future of the students, and the government is sensitive towards their hard work and efforts. We will not let malpractice happen this time," he said.
Pradhan also announced that from next year, NEET-UG would be conducted in Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode as part of reforms aimed at improving transparency and preventing examination irregularities.
The National Testing Agency later confirmed the June 21 re-examination date in an official post on X and advised candidates to rely only on official communication channels for updates.
Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday said it has identified and arrested the kingpin involved in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case.
According to the CBI, the accused, identified as P V Kulkarni, is a Chemistry lecturer associated with the examination process on behalf of the National Testing Agency and allegedly had access to the NEET-UG 2026 question papers.
The agency said its investigation revealed that during the last week of April 2026, Kulkarni, along with another accused, Manisha Waghmare, organised special coaching classes for selected students at his residence in Pune. Waghmare was arrested by the CBI on May 14."
During these coaching sessions, he dictated questions along with options and correct answers. The CBI said, "The questions handwritten by students in their notebooks exactly matched the actual Chemistry paper of the NEET-UG 2026 examination conducted on May 3, 2026." (ANI)