Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar on Wednesday, 27 May launched a sharp attack on the National Testing Agency (NTA) over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak controversy, accusing the agency and the Union government of deflecting accountability rather than addressing the crisis head-on.

Kumar's Core Charge Against NTA

“According to them, what does a paper leak even mean? In their opinion, a paper leak only happens when a question paper gets printed in a newspaper,” Kumar said. He questioned the NTA’s credibility, noting that “questions are continuously being raised about the NTA chief” and alleging the official has “political ties with the BJP and the RSS.”

Kumar added that despite being entrusted with every major national examination, the NTA had failed to conduct “even a single exam properly.” The Congress leader also posed a pointed rhetorical question: “When almost all the questions are leaked, then if this is not called a paper leak, what will it be called?”

Demands for Ministerial and Prime Ministerial Accountability

Kumar directly named Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his accountability demand. “The NTA and Education Minister Pradhan should answer these questions. Prime Minister Modi should also respond,” he said. He drew a pointed contrast between the government’s high-profile ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ initiative and its silence when paper leaks surface: “Before every exam, you conduct ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’, but whenever a paper leak takes place, the reels and campaigns suddenly go silent.”

What the NTA Told Parliament

On 22 May, the NTA informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education that no ‘full-fledged’ paper leak had occurred in the NEET-UG 2026 examination. The agency maintained that “only certain questions came out” and characterised the episode as instances of malpractice rather than a complete paper leak — a framing that critics, including Kumar, have rejected as semantic evasion.

Supreme Court Weighs In

On Monday, the Supreme Court observed that it was “sad” that no lessons had been learnt from previous NEET paper leak cases, while hearing a plea against the NTA. The observation adds judicial weight to the political pressure mounting on the agency and the Union Ministry of Education.

Background: Cancellation and Re-Examination

The NEET-UG 2026 examination — the all-India pre-medical entrance test — was cancelled following allegations of a major paper leak and the circulation of a ‘guess paper’ that reportedly matched several actual exam questions. The controversy triggered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and drew parliamentary scrutiny of the NTA. Amid widespread protests by students and parents, the NTA subsequently announced a re-examination scheduled for 21 June. This is not the first time the NEET process has been mired in irregularity allegations, and the recurrence has deepened calls for a structural overhaul of the agency.