New Delhi [India], June 18 : Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra launched a scathing attack on the central government, highlighting the financial burden on NEET aspirants and their families.
The Congress echoed Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi's recent comparison, highlighting the money spent by NEET aspirants and their families equalling the entire Union education budget.
In a post on X, the Congress General Secretary claimed that the system extracts Rs 1.32 lakh crore annually from the 22 lakh students appearing for the NEET examination and their families. To provide context on the scale of these figures, Gandhi pointed out that India's entire national education budget stands at Rs 1.40 lakh crore.
https://x.com/priyankagandhi/status/2067288181578563725
"Just one figure from @rahulgandhi's talk at Kota says it all. Money extracted by the system from NEET students and their families (22 lakh students per year) = 1.32 Lakh Crore. India's entire education budget = 1.40 Lakh Crore," she said.
Taking a sharp dig at the government's fiscal priorities, she added, "I have only one thing to add to it. Loans forfeited by the government of India to its favourite businessmen: 16 Lakh crores."
The remarks followed Rahul Gandhi's outreach programme in Kota 'Echo of Students', where Gandhi engaged directly with students regarding the mounting pressures within India's educational landscape.
In an X post, Rahul Gandhi announced his arrival at Kota and said that the ongoing student distress was not a series of isolated incidents, but a systemic failure fueled by government negligence.
"Just think--the amount of money families across the country spend just on NEET preparation is equal to the entire education budget of the Government of India," Gandhi wrote.
The NEET-UG 2026 re-examination is scheduled to be held on June 21, following the cancellation of the May 3 exam due to a paper leak.