"Avoiding House itself": Congress' Sukhdeo Bhagat accuses Centre of evading responsibility on NEET paper leak issue

Speaking to ANI, Bhagat said, "The Prime Minister and Union Home Minister Amit Shah ought to apologise to the students for their actions, considering the manner in which the situation was handled... However, if you look at the entire paper leak episode involving Dharmendra Pradhan ji, there appeared to be a sense of pride, as though he had accomplished something extraordinary. This presents a stark contradiction. Even today, the entire government, including the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, is failing to take responsibility. Instead, they are avoiding accountability and, indeed, avoiding the House itself."

The remarks follow a period of intense unrest, where massive protests at Delhi's Jantar Mantar over the NEET paper leak crisis led to the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan. In the wake of these demonstrations, the government moved the new legislation as a measure to ensure such irregularities do not occur again.

The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, which was passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, was cleared by the Rajya Sabha on Friday, even as Opposition members staged a walkout during the voting.

The legislation has triggered a sharp political divide. Opposition parties have accused the Centre of rushing the amendments and failing to address the root causes of recurring leaks. They further alleged that the Bill was brought primarily to defuse widespread student agitations rather than to introduce genuine systemic reforms.

The Centre, however, has defended the amendments, stating they reflect the government's willingness to "learn from experience" following the implementation of the 2024 Act. The government maintained that the new provisions are aimed at further strengthening the legal framework to curb examination malpractices and protect the interests of genuine candidates. (ANI)