‘At least apologise’: Rahul Gandhi slams PM Modi over NEET leak, Class 12 marks row; flays Dharmendra Pradhan

NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Sunday intensified his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, accusing the Centre of failing students across multiple age groups amid the NEET-UG paper leak controversy, CBSE evaluation concerns and the rollout of a new language policy in schools.In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi alleged that repeated controversies linked to examinations and school education had pushed lakhs of students into uncertainty.“First the NEET paper leak affecting 22 lakh students. Then CBSE Class 12 students receiving unexpectedly low marks from a broken OSM system - many losing their college eligibility. Now lakhs of CBSE Class 9 students suddenly asked to learn a new language from July 1, with no teachers, no textbooks, and Class 6 books being handed to 14-year-olds as a “transitional” fix,” Rahul Gandhi wrote.“Three exams. Three age groups. One Minister. Dharmendra Pradhan ji has not failed once. He has failed every single age group of India’s students at once,” he added.The Congress leader further accused the Education Ministry of creating repeated crises for students and demanded accountability from the Prime Minister.“Every announcement plunges children deeper into uncertainty. Every failure goes unpunished. The Education Ministry has become a department of disasters. Prime Minister Modi ji - can you at least apologise to the lakhs of children whose futures you and your Minister have destroyed?” Rahul Gandhi said.The remarks came hours after Rahul Gandhi questioned why Pradhan had not been removed from office over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak controversy.Earlier in the day, Rahul compared the Centre’s handling of the 2024 and 2026 NEET paper leak cases and accused the government of repeating the same cycle of investigation and committee formation without fixing systemic issues.“NEET 2024: The paper was leaked. The exam wasn’t cancelled. The minister didn’t resign. The CBI launched an investigation. A committee was formed. NEET 2026: The paper was leaked. The exam was cancelled. The minister still didn’t resign. The CBI is investigating again. Another committee will be formed,” he had posted on X.“Modi ji, the nation has some questions for you — answer them! Why are paper leaks happening again and again? Why are you silent on this repeated ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’? Why haven’t you sacked the education minister who’s failing time and again?” he added.The National Testing Agency cancelled NEET-UG 2026, conducted on May 3, after investigators found evidence that several questions similar to those in the examination paper had circulated before the test.The government subsequently handed the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation, while the examination is scheduled to be reconducted on June 21.The cancellation affected nearly 23 lakh aspirants and marked the first time the entire NEET-UG examination had been scrapped since the NTA took over the test in 2019.The CBI on Saturday arrested another alleged mastermind in the case, identifying the accused as Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, a senior Botany teacher from Pune. Investigators alleged she was the source of leaked Biology questions and had access to question papers as an NTA-appointed expert.Rahul Gandhi had also targeted the Centre on Friday over suicides linked to the controversy. Referring to the death of a 21-year-old student in Uttar Pradesh after the exam cancellation, he said, “These youngsters didn’t lose to the exams; they were killed by a corrupt system. This isn’t suicide — it’s murder by the system.”