Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 24 : Bharatiya Janata Party's MP Sudhanshu Trivedi on Sunday launched a sharp counter-attack on Congress, accusing the party of indulging in what he described as an "Maoist, violent, anarchic" politics following sharp critique from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi regarding the NEET paper leak controversy.
Speaking to ANI, Trivedi characterized the Congress party's recent stance as a product of "mental despair" brought on by continuous electoral setbacks.
"Due to its continuous electoral defeats, the Congress Party is not only experiencing mental despair but also becoming part of a very dangerous conspiracy. Rahul Gandhi's statement has made one thing very clear - what PM Narendra Modi said about the Congress Party, that it has now transformed into the Muslim League-Maoist Congress," Trivedi said.
"The evil attempt to change power through anarchy shows that it is moving towards Maoist, violent, anarchic politics," he added.
The BJP leader also questioned the motives behind the Congress party's sustained campaign on the issue, suggesting complicity with "foreign powers".
"I want to ask Congress if they are doing all this in alliance with foreign powers or unknowingly becoming their weapon?" he questioned.
The ongoing political standoff between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress party has intensified significantly over the NEET paper row.
Rahul Gandhi on Sunday launched a sharp attack on the Centre, alleging that the government was trying to evade accountability while the future of lakhs of students remained uncertain.
In a post on X, Gandhi said, "When millions of youth are on the streets and the future of 22 lakh children is at stake, the Prime Minister remains silent. This government is focused not on answering, but on escaping responsibility."
The Leader of Opposition also demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and called for a robust mechanism to prevent recurrence of examination paper leaks.
"Until Dharmendra Pradhan resigns and a foolproof system is established to prevent paper leaks like NEET--we will not stop", Gandhi said.
Earlier, Gandhi also backed the Youth Congress protests over the NEET UG paper leak and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on the issue.
Sharing a video of a protest in Rajasthan, Gandhi also accused the BJP state government of "raining lathis" at protesters.
Taking a jibe at PM Modi and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni sharing toffees, Gandhi wrote on X, "When Modi ji was making reels while handing out candies in Italy, youth in India, tormented by paper leaks, were taking to the streets demanding justice. Because the NEET Paper Leak has ruined the futures of lakhs of students. Many children have even lost their lives. And Modi ji neither took responsibility, nor removed Dharmendra Pradhan, nor uttered a single word."
Meanwhile, amidst growing concerns over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination process, triggered by the recent paper leak, the Director General (DG) of the National Testing Agency (NTA), Abhishek Singh, appeared before a Parliamentary committee to provide a detailed briefing on the NEET-UG paper leak and the steps being taken to reform the examination process.Education Secretary Vineet Joshi was also present during the deliberations that began at 11 am today and went on for about five hours.