Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday, 20 July 2026 launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led central government, condemning the use of police force against students protesting the NEET examination scandal and calling it an 'undeclared Emergency' in the country.

Context

Siddaramaiah posted at length in Kannada, stating that the central government, 'shaken by the peaceful resistance of students who are victims of the NEET exam scandal, has desperately resorted to lathi charges to suppress the protest.' He said hundreds of innocent young men and women had been injured by 'merciless police baton blows.' The Chief Minister described the situation as resembling an 'undeclared Emergency' across the country.

The post further noted that student protests had spread beyond Delhi to states including Karnataka, with youth taking to the streets against what he characterised as the central government's 'anti-education and anti-youth policies.' He added that more than 20,000 young people had gathered near Parliament, ready to march, leaving the Prime Minister 'directionless.'

Policy Backdrop

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) has been the sole nationwide entrance examination for undergraduate medical admissions since the 2016 academic year. The test has faced recurring allegations of paper leaks and irregularities, drawing sustained criticism from opposition parties and student groups alike.

Siddaramaiah pointed to what he called a decade of misgovernance, noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had come to power in 2014 promising two crore jobs per year, yet unemployment had 'broken all previous records' during his tenure. He argued that the student movement was not limited to the NEET scandal alone but reflected widespread public fatigue with 'corruption, misgovernance, and authoritarian tendencies' of the central government.

The Chief Minister also referenced Sonam Wangchuk, the Ladakhi education activist, saying police action against Wangchuk's fast had drawn condemnation both within India and abroad. He drew a pointed contrast, saying it was 'regrettable' that a Prime Minister from the state that gave birth to Mahatma Gandhi was behaving like a 'follower of Nathuram Godse.'

Demands and Stakeholders

Siddaramaiah made two specific demands of the Prime Minister: the immediate sacking of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, whom he blamed for 'bringing the education sector to ruin,' and direct dialogue with student leaders to address their grievances. He called on all Congress party leaders and workers to raise their voices in solidarity with those affected by the NEET scandal.

The Chief Minister acknowledged that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had already lent momentum to the student agitation. Medical aspirants, their parents, and youth groups across the country remain the primary stakeholders, with the NEET controversy directly affecting hundreds of thousands of students competing for limited undergraduate medical seats each year.

What's Next

Siddaramaiah warned that if the central government continued to meet 'peaceful resistance with force,' the countdown to its fall would begin. He said the 'tears and curses of aggrieved innocent students and their parents' would bring the Modi government down, and that attempts to suppress the student movement through 'neglect, lies, and propaganda' had already failed.

With Congress now formally mobilising on the streets and in Parliament over the NEET issue, the political pressure on the central government over examination integrity, youth unemployment, and the conduct of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is set to intensify in the coming weeks.