Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other Opposition leaders hit out at the Centre after the ministry of education cancelled UGC-NET on Wednesday evening saying the “integrity of the examination may have been compromised”.

Mallikarjun Kharge also attacked the government over the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET, and asked when will Prime Minister Narendra Modi hold “NEET pareeksha pe charcha”.

The Congress dubbed the government led by Narendra Modi as “paper leak government” and asked whether the education minister would take responsibility now.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra lashed out at the Centre over the UGC-NET 2024 development and asked for accountability to be fixed.

In a post in Hindi on X, Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Narendra Modi ji, you discuss exams a lot, but when will you hold ‘NEET pareeksha pe charcha’. Cancellation of UGC-NET exam is a victory of the passion of lakhs of students,” he said.

“This is the defeat of Modi government’s arrogance due to which they made a despicable attempt to trample the future of our youth,” the Congress president added.

Mallikarjun Kharge also said the Union education minister first says that no paper was leaked in NEET, but when arrests of education mafia were made in Bihar, Gujarat and Haryana, then the minister “accepts that some scam” has happened. “When will NEET exam be cancelled?” the senior Congress leader asked.

“Modi ji, take responsibility to stop your government’s rigging and paper leak in NEET exam too,” Kharge further said.

Meanwhile, the Congress alleged that the Modi government was playing with the future of the youth.

“Yesterday UGC-NET exam was conducted in various cities of the country. Today the exam was cancelled on suspicion of paper leak. First NEET paper was leaked and now UGC-NET paper. The Modi government has become a ‘paper leak government’,” the Congress posted on X.

Reacting sharply to the examination cancellation, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also alleged that the BJP government’s “corruption and laxity” is harmful to the youth.

“After the news of scam in NEET exam, now the NET exam held on 18th June has also been cancelled due to the fear of irregularities. Will accountability be fixed now? Will the Education Minister take responsibility for this laxity?” Priyanka Gandhi asked in a post in Hindi.

The Union education ministry, amid a raging row over the medical entrance exam NEET, ordered the cancellation of the UGC-NET and handed over the matter to the CBI for an investigation.

The ministry also sought a report from the Bihar Police’s Economic Offences Unit regarding alleged irregularities in the conduct of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (UG) 2024 in Patna and said further action would be taken based on the report.

‘Education emergency’: Shiv Sena (UBT)

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi alleged that the repeated and absolute failure to conduct national examinations fairly exposes the NTA’s incompetence. “This is an education emergency and also lets down lakhs of students who diligently prepare for these entrance exams. , not to forget the mental pressure they go through. Cancelling is not the solution, accountability from government and NTA is. This absolute disregard to young students and their careers is unfortunate,” she posted on X.

Aaditya Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT) also reacted to the Centre’s order. “Education Emergency. However the central regime doesn’t care about the lakhs of students. They’re only focussed on PR.”

‘Ban NTA’: NSUI

The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) has called for immediate action against the NTA. NSUI, the student wing of the Indian National Congress (INC), in a release, said this development has once again highlighted serious concerns about the integrity and security of examinations conducted by NTA.

NSUI president Varun Choudhary appealed to the education minister to take immediate and decisive action, including banning the NTA and initiating legal proceedings against its officials.

“We have repeatedly pointed out the flaws and vulnerabilities in the examination processes conducted by NTA. The recent compromise of the UGC-NET exam is just one more example of their failure. It is time for the Education Minister to act responsibly and protect students’ interests,” Varun Choudhary stated.