Why isn't PM sacking Education Minister Pradhan despite repeated paper leaks, asks Rahul

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Updated - May 17, 2026 04:35 pm IST - New Delhi Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi speaks over the NEET-UG 2026 row, on May 16, 2026. Photo: @RahulGandhi X/ANI Video Grab Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday (May 17, 20260 asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi why he was not sacking Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan despite repeated paper leaks in his tenure. In a post on X, Mr. Gandhi also questioned the "silence" of the Prime Minister on the matter. "NEET 2024: Paper leaked. Exam not cancelled. Minister did not resign. CBI set up an investigation. A committee was formed.” "NEET 2026: Paper leaked. Exam cancelled. Minister still did not resign. CBI is investigating again. Another committee will be formed," Mr. Gandhi posted on X. The National Testing Agency cancelled the National Eligibility cum Entrance Exam (Undergraduate) held on May 3 amid allegations of irregularities. The re-exam has been scheduled for June 21. "Mr Modi, the country is asking you some questions - answer them! Why are paper leaks happening repeatedly? Why are you silent time and again on this 'Pariksha pe Charcha'? Why aren't you dismissing the education minister who keeps failing repeatedly?" The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha asked, using the hashtag "#SackPradhan". 'Pariksha pe Charcha' is a programme in which the Prime Minister interacts with students, parents and teachers. The initiative aims to reshape the examination experience of students by fostering confidence, positivity, and holistic well-being. On Saturday (May 16, 2026), Mr. Gandhi demanded that the Prime Minister should immediately sack Pradhan or take responsibility himself. He also alleged that the "BJP-RSS nexus" has destroyed India's education system and said the hard work of 22 lakh NEET aspirants has gone to waste. "The whole country knows that two days before NEET, its question paper was being distributed on WhatsApp. Dharmendra Pradhan ji says he has nothing to do with the matter. The (Parliamentary) Committee had made recommendations but he put it in the dustbin on the pretext that opposition people were on the committee and that it was of no use," Mr. Gandhi said in a video statement. "The truth is that you [government] have damaged the core of India. This is a nexus of the RSS, the BJP and their people that have been installed in universities, vice chancellors and professors, to mint money," the former Congress president said, adding that all people involved in the alleged paper leak be put in jail. Mr. Pradhan on Friday (May 15, 2026) announced that the NEET-UG re-examination would be held on June 21. He said the medical entrance exam would be computer-based from next year onwards in view of irregularities linked to it. Rahul Gandhi / Narendra Modi / entrance examination Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Why isn't PM sacking Education Minister Pradhan despite repeated paper leaks, asks Rahul

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Why isn't PM sacking Education Minister Pradhan despite repeated paper leaks, asks Rahul

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