NEW DELHI: Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched a fresh attack on the Centre over the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak, accusing the government of failing students and demanding the removal of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.Addressing a press conference, Gandhi alleged that India’s education system had become a ‘rigged system’, claimed there had been ‘152 paper leaks’ over the past decade with ‘zero convictions’ and criticised the police action against students protesting over the examination controversy. He also reiterated his demand that Pradhan resign.His remarks came after police used tear gas and lathi-charged protesters during the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP) march towards Parliament over the alleged paper leak.Here are the top quotes from Rahul Gandhi’s press conference:
On education system and paper leaks
- “The thing that is very clear to everybody is that our education system, which was known to be one of the best education systems in the world, is today a rigged system.”
- “In the last 10 years, 152 paper leaks have taken place and there have been zero convictions. Zero. So somebody, or a group of people, has destroyed our education system, India’s most valuable asset, destroying the lives of our students. And what does the government do? Zero convictions.”
- “What we do know is that 152 paper leaks have taken place over the last decade. So, approximately one a month. Every month, lakhs of students are told that all the stress they went through, they’re going to have to go through again.”
On students and police action
- “The question is, why is this happening to our students? What exactly have our students done? Thousands and thousands of students… To have security forces aiming weapons at them, to be beaten up, to be thrashed, to be humiliated. What have they done wrong? They’re protesting peacefully.”
- “They’re simply asking, ‘Listen, as students in this country, we deserve an education system that works. We deserve an education system that is fair,’ and we don’t have it.”
“Children have committed suicide. Our students go through immense stress. And then, at the last minute, they are told that the paper has leaked. So there is a legitimate problem. And it is now a very deep problem in this country.”
On students and their families
- “7.5 crore students and their families are affected by this. These are middle-class and poor families. They put their hard-earned money into this… And the best part of this is zero convictions.”
On education minister Dharmendra Pradhan
- “Dharmendra Pradhan should be shown the door, he is incapable of holding the post.”
On student protests
- “Students are protesting as India’s youth have no future. There must be consequences on what has been done some days ago.”
