NSUI ramps up nationwide protests over NEET leak, demands Pradhan's exit

The Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India (NSUI) intensified its campaign against alleged paper leaks and irregularities in competitive examinations over the weekend, staging protests in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh while demanding the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

In Lucknow on Sunday, 14 June, NSUI workers took out a march against alleged leaks in examinations such as NEET, the Lekhpal recruitment test and the Uttar Pradesh sub-inspector recruitment examination, as well as against the arrest of party workers raising the issue.

Led by NSUI national president Vinod Jakhar and Uttar Pradesh unit president Anas Rahman, protesters marched from the state Congress headquarters towards Raj Bhavan. The march was halted by police barricades before Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg. As some protesters attempted to climb the barricades and move ahead, police intervened and dispersed the gathering.

The organisation claimed that one of its workers fell unconscious during the confrontation and was admitted to Civil Hospital for treatment. Police detained several protesters and transported them to Eco Garden, from where they were released later in the evening.

Addressing supporters, Jakhar accused the BJP government of failing to conduct competitive examinations in a fair and transparent manner. "NSUI workers are on the streets because the government has completely failed in conducting competitive examinations. We are protesting against the NEET paper leak across Uttar Pradesh and the country," he said.

Demanding accountability, Jakhar said Pradhan should resign, taking responsibility for the alleged irregularities. "The deployment of a massive police force clearly shows that the BJP government is scared. The government is protecting paper leak mafias," he alleged.

Jakhar also referred to students allegedly affected by examination irregularities and demanded compensation for the families of students who had ended their lives following the cancellation of the exams. He also called for a ban on the National Testing Agency (NTA) and reiterated the demand for Pradhan's immediate resignation.

Rahman said the agitation would continue. "We are soldiers of Rahul Gandhi and we are not going to stop. This protest will continue. No matter how much action is taken against our workers, NSUI will keep raising the voice of students and unemployed youth," he said.

The protest in Lucknow came a day after police detained several NSUI office-bearers and workers in Bhopal as they attempted to stage a demonstration against Pradhan during his visit to the city.

According to Congress leaders, the workers were on their way from the Pradesh Congress Committee office to Atal Bhavan, the headquarters of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation, carrying placards when they were stopped and taken into custody.

Those detained included NSUI Madhya Pradesh vice-president Ravi Parmar and district vice-president Amit Hatiya. The Congress alleged that some office-bearers were detained from their homes, while others were picked up from party offices.

A minor scuffle broke out during the detentions as protesters raised slogans against the Union education minister. The demonstrators said they were protesting alleged irregularities in the NEET examination and demanding Pradhan's resignation.

According to the protesters, irregularities in the country's premier medical entrance examination had shaken the confidence of lakhs of students and their families.

While being detained, Parmar alleged that the Centre was weakening the education system. "A paper leak in an important examination like NEET is not merely an administrative failure but an injustice to the future of lakhs of youths," he said.

He added that the NSUI would continue its agitation until strict action was taken against those responsible and the Union education minister accepted moral responsibility for the controversy.

Congress spokesperson Vivek Tripathi described the police action as "undemocratic".

"The government is trying to suppress the voice of the youth. The NEET paper leak scandal has pushed the future of lakhs of students into uncertainty," he alleged.

Tripathi said Pradhan should resign on moral grounds and accused both the minister and the Centre of trying to evade responsibility. He said the country's youth would continue to protest democratically against the Union minister wherever he travelled. "The Congress and NSUI will continue fighting for the rights of students and young people," he added.

The NEET-UG 2026 examination, originally conducted on 3 May, was cancelled by the National Testing Agency on 12 May following allegations of irregularities. A re-test is scheduled to be held on 21 June.

The Central Bureau of Investigation is currently probing the paper leak case.

With PTI inputs