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Senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the Centre over the NEET-UG 2026 cancellation and repeated paper leak allegations, alleging a systemic failure in conducting examinations and calling for accountability from the people responsible.
Addressing the press conference in the national capital, Sibal said paper leaks had become a recurring pattern in national-level examinations and questioned the governance in states where such incidents were reported. "It's become a trend that when exams are held, papers are leaked. It's also interesting to see where these leaks are happening. Papers are being leaked in Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Uttarakhand, all of them ruled by the BJP. Why are papers leaking only under BJP governments?" he asked. Sibal also called for the resignation of the education ministers of every state led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying that they should give up their posts as a form of punishment. Referring to repeated incidents over the years, he questioned past investigations. "Papers were leaked in 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and now in 2026. Did the previous investigations yield any results? It won't happen without the consent of those in power," Sibal said, questioning the delay in action after the recent allegations surfaced. "This is 2-3 days old news, so why did they wait so long? An FIR should be filed immediately and handed over to the CBI for investigation. They have the Rajasthan government as well as the CBI, and would not catch the culprits. Does anyone think about the students?" he asked. Highlighting the impact on aspirants, he said students from across the country, especially from poor backgrounds, were the worst affected. "People come from outside, and even the children from poor families come to give the exams, and now they will have to work hard again," Sibal said. He demanded resignation from those holding responsibility in the education system. "All the ministers and education ministers of the departments in which this is happening should resign. When illiterate people become Chief Minister, the paper leaks are bound to happen," he said. His remarks come amid intensified political debate following the Centre's decision to cancel the NEET-UG 2026 examination conducted on May 3 over alleged paper leak and irregularities. Earlier in the day, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered an FIR into the case under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Prevention of Corruption Act, and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. The FIR was filed based on a complaint from the Ministry of Education, with special CBI teams deployed across locations for investigation. The National Testing Agency (NTA) had earlier stated that the exam was cancelled after inputs from central agencies raised concerns about its integrity and transparency, and announced that a re-exam would be conducted on a later date. (ANI)
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