Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], May 13 : AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led central government over the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination following paper leaks, demanding accountability over the "plight of students," particularly those from underprivileged backgrounds who dream of clearing the examination to become doctors.
Owaisi asserted that the government must provide answers for jeopardising the hard work and aspirations of these students, whose families often exhaust their limited resources to support their medical dreams.
"What happened to that law which you enacted in Parliament promising strict punishment, vowing to take decisive action, and making various assurances. So, how did the paper leak? Think of the plight of those students who have been preparing with utmost dedication for the past year or two, and whose parents have spent lakhs of rupees on coaching centres. Think of those underprivileged students who dream of clearing the NEET examination. The BJP must answer for this. The Prime Minister must answer for this..." said Owaisi.
Owaisi's remarks came after the central government decided to cancel the NEET-UG 2026 examination, originally supposed to be conducted on May 3. The move was made following allegations regarding paper leaks and irregularities.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) stated that the decision was taken after inputs were examined in coordination with central agencies, and findings shared by law enforcement agencies raised concerns over the integrity of the examination process.
The agency clarified that the registration data, candidature details and examination centres chosen by candidates for the May 2026 cycle would remain valid for the re-test. No fresh registration will be required, and no additional fee will be charged.
Following the cancellation of the exam, Opposition leaders launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led central government.
Congress leader P Chidambaram called for the abolition of NEET-UG 2026 and suggested returning examination authority to state governments, stating that large-scale national entrance tests are highly vulnerable to question paper leaks.
In a post on X, Chidambaram wrote, "NEET-UG 2026 examination was held on May 3, 2026. The exam was conducted across over 5,432 centres. These centres were located across 551 cities within India and 14 cities abroad, catering to approximately 22.79 lakh registered students"
"It is common sense that in the conduct of such an exam, over a large geographical area, the question paper has a very high probability of being leaked. Such leaks have happened in the past too. The answer is not attempt to 'plug' the leaks. The answer is to abolish NEET, return the authority to the States, and for NTA to ensure that the quality and standard of such State-level exams are of uniform high quality and standard," the post read.
Meanwhile, the BJP government announced that the exam would be re-conducted on a later date and handed the case of paper leak over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a detailed probe.