Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], May 17 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson NV Subhash on Sunday hit back at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi after the Leader of Opposition termed the death of a NEET aspirant in Uttar Pradesh following the alleged paper leak, a "murder" by the Modi government, saying Gandhi should refrain from making such statements as a responsible opposition leader.
"Especially Rahul Gandhi, being a responsible opposition leader, should not give these kinds of statements where the person who had hanged himself, is a murder, putting the blame entirely on the Modi government on that," Subhash told ANI.
The BJP leader further defended the NEET system introduced after 2014, claiming that it had increased transparency in medical admissions and reduced irregularities in the admission process.
"From UPA-1 to UPA-2, over 10 years, there have been many scams which have happened, including the famous question paper leakages. But after 2014, the medical examination system has completely changed, where the real students who work really hard, who deserve to become doctors, the NEET exam has been introduced for that," he said.
"This kind of system has been completely abolished by the Modi government. Today, the students' aspirations have increased because medical colleges have increased, hospitals have increased, the number of students has increased, and the number of admissions has increased, including undergraduate and PG," he added.
The BJP leader was reacting to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks on Friday, in which the Leader of Opposition termed the death of NEET aspirant Ritik Mishra a "murder by the system" and questioned how many more such deaths would be required before the government is held accountable.
Mishra, a 21-year-old from Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri, allegedly died by suicide on Thursday after the cancellation of the NEET-UG examination over paper leak allegations. His family said he was distressed over the development and was confident of clearing the exam in his third attempt.
Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday said it has identified and arrested the kingpin involved in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case.
According to the CBI, the accused, identified as PV Kulkarni, is a Chemistry lecturer associated with the examination process on behalf of the National Testing Agency and allegedly had access to the NEET-UG 2026 question papers.
The agency said its investigation revealed that during the last week of April 2026, Kulkarni, along with another accused, Manisha Waghmare, organised special coaching classes for selected students at his residence in Pune. Waghmare was arrested by the CBI on May 14.
CBI has made a total of seven arrests in the case.