NEET paper leak accused ruined lives of students, must face same fate: Bawankule

Nagpur: Revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Sunday hit out at those responsible for the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak, saying they deserved to have their own lives ruined for destroying the futures of lakhs of students. Bawankule said Opposition parties were using the paper leak for political traction while ignoring the real suffering of students. He praised Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and both the central and state govts for acting swiftly to uncover the wrongdoing. As various organisations held protests over NEET paper leak in many cities, the Opposition demanded resignation of Pradhan for the fiasco. Bawankule said, "Demanding resignations is the job of the Opposition. Such paper leaks happened during Congress rule also. Nobody should do politics over an issue which concerns lakhs of students and their academic future."He stressed that the "speedy action" by the govt to nab the culprits needs to be appreciated. "I express gratitude to those who investigated the matter thoroughly. Dharmendra Pradhan exposed it completely," Bawankule said.The NTA cancelled NEET-UG 2026, held on May 3, after parts of the question paper were allegedly leaked. The controversy escalated after a so-called guess paper, allegedly containing several actual questions, began circulating among candidates in Rajasthan and other states ahead of the exam. The CBI has taken over the investigation.The retest has been scheduled for June 21. Candidates will not have to pay any additional fee, and fees paid for the May 3 test will be refunded. All 22 lakh candidates who appeared for the original exam will have to reappear. The govt has also announced a shift to a computer-based testing format for NEET from 2027. Pradhan, addressing his first press conference since the cancellation, said the govt adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards examination malpractice and would not allow the education mafia to compromise opportunities for genuine students. "We admit there was a breach somewhere in the chain of command despite implementing the Radhakrishnan committee recommendations. We take responsibility to fix this," he said.