The Congress on Thursday said any discussion in Parliament on the NEET paper leak issue would be futile as long as Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan remained in office, as the Opposition and the government remained locked in a standoff over the matter.
The party said Pradhan must resign immediately, saying this reflected the nationwide mood. The government, however, has accused the Congress of setting pre-conditions for a discussion and of doing politics over the issue.
Earlier, the Congress stepped up its attack on the government, with Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge saying in the House that the Education Minister must resign before any discussion on NEET begins. Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Kharge, along with other MPs, also staged a protest inside Parliament premises in support of the demand.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the Monsoon session of 2015 was washed out over the VYAPAM scam in Madhya Pradesh because the then chief minister in question was “protected”, and alleged that the minister linked to the NEET paper leak issue was now also being protected. He was referring to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was the Madhya Pradesh chief minister in 2015.
In a post on X, Ramesh said, “How time marches and nothing changes! The Monsoon 2015 session was wiped out almost entirely because of the VYAPAM examination and recruitment scam in Madhya Pradesh. The Monsoon 2026 session has been rocked by the NTA paper leak scandal. The man who presided over the VYAPAM scam was protected and given two important Union Ministries. The man who presided over the NTA paper leak continues to be protected by the Pradhan Mantri.”
He added that any discussion in Parliament with the “Mantri Pradhan” in office would be futile and said, “The nationwide sentiment and demand is clear and categorical – Mantri Pradhan must resign immediately.”
The Congress has made Pradhan’s resignation a condition for the start of a discussion on the NEET paper leak issue, while the government has maintained that the opposition is refusing to participate in a debate and is instead putting pre-conditions in place. The confrontation over the issue continued in Parliament on Thursday.
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Published By:
India Today Web Desk
Published On:
Jul 23, 2026 20:51 IST
