Pawan Khera Attacks Dharmendra Pradhan Over NEET Suicides

Congress leader Pawan Khera intensified his critique of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan regarding the 2026 NEET-UG paper leak. Replying to a birthday post for Pradhan, Khera listed 14 medical aspirants who died by suicide, demanding immediate accountability from the central government.

Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera on Friday took a swipe at Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak controversy, invoking the names of 14 medical aspirants who died by suicide. He did so while replying to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday post for the minister.

Quoting PM Modi’s post on X, Khera wrote, “Dear Dharmendra Uncle… Happy Birthday. You turn 57 today. We couldn’t even reach half your age,” before listing the names of the 14 aspirants.

In the post, Khera listed the names of medical aspirants who died by suicide between the cancellation of the NEET-UG examination held on May 3 and the re-examination conducted on June 21.

The post came a day after Khera accused the BJP-led Centre of failing to fix accountability in the NEET-UG paper leak case.

While addressing the media on Thursday during the launch of the Congress party’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ (students’ echo) nationwide campaign, Khera alleged that around 90 paper leak incidents had surfaced across the country over the past 10 years.

“Only small brokers and pawns have been arrested, while the real masterminds and their political patrons continue to escape accountability,” he claimed.

Khera also targeted Pradhan, saying, “When asked about the NEET question paper leak, the minister points fingers at the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the NTA points to the CBI, which has remained a ‘B-team’ of the BJP. Even the prime minister has remained totally silent on the issue.”

He said the Centre should stop “playing with the future of students” and take moral responsibility for the incident.

“The education minister and the NTA cannot escape responsibility for this crisis. When trust in a national examination collapses, accountability must also be fixed at the national level,” Khera said, demanding Pradhan’s resignation on moral grounds.

Future Outlook

The escalating political confrontation over national entrance examinations signals a rigorous legislative and public push for systemic testing reforms in 2026. With the opposition launching nationwide campaigns like ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’, scrutiny on the National Testing Agency will intensify. The government faces mounting pressure to establish transparent evaluation mechanisms, secure digital assessment protocols, and legal frameworks to eliminate examination malpractice completely.

FAQs

Why did Pawan Khera criticize Dharmendra Pradhan?

Pawan Khera targeted Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the 2026 NEET-UG paper leak controversy. He used a birthday post to list the names of 14 medical aspirants who reportedly died by suicide following the disruption of the national entrance examination.

When did the NEET-UG 2026 examinations take place?

The original NEET-UG examination was held on May 3, 2026, before faces cancellations and subsequent challenges, leading to a structured re-examination conducted on June 21, 2026.

What is the Chhatron Ki Goonj campaign?

The ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ campaign is a nationwide student initiative launched by the Congress party to highlight systemic failures in national examinations, protest paper leaks, and demand accountability from the government.

How many paper leaks did the Congress party allege have happened?

Congress leader Pawan Khera claimed that approximately 90 question paper leak incidents have been reported across India over the last 10 years under the current administration.