Rahul Gandhi attacks Modi government over NEET row after aspirant’s death, demands accountability

Rahul Gandhi, the leader of Opposition, on Thursday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi following the alleged suicide of a NEET aspirant. Linking NEET aspirant’s death to the NEET-UG paper leak controversy, the Congress leader criticised the Narendra Modi government and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the issue. He also demanded the govt to fix accountability in the aftermath of paper leak crisis.

Referring to to Akanksha, a NEET aspirant who died by suicide following the uncertainty surrounding the examination process, the Congress leader highlighted the efforts made by her family to support her dream of pursuing a medical career. According to Gandhi, Akanksha’s father, a farmer, had taken a loan of Rs 3 lakh through a Kisan Credit Card and also worked as a cook in Nagpur to fund her coaching and education.

Talking about Akanksha’s case, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the subsequent cancellation of the examination created uncertainty among the students and blamed Modi government, saying an entire generation of young Indians is paying the price for how the country’s education system has been ruined over the past 12 years. “This death incident is a reflection of what he called a flawed education system” the Congress leader said. 

In his recent post on X, the Congress leader also questioned the role of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and reiterated the opposition’s demand for accountability over the handling of the examination controversy. He alleged that no meaningful reforms or corrective measures had been introduced despite the concerns raised after the paper leak episode.

His remarks come around a month after the NEET-UG paper leak controversy, which affected lakhs of medical aspirants across the country and that led to protests, public criticism and demands for resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The National Testing Agency (NTA) later announced that a re-examination would be conducted on June 21.