AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday, 30 May 2026 sharply criticised a reported proposal to use Indian Air Force aircraft to transport NEET examination papers, calling the idea naive and questioning the central government's genuine commitment to ending paper leaks in the national medical entrance test.

Context

Kejriwal's post, written in Hindi, directly challenged a reported security measure under which Air Force planes would be deployed to ferry NEET question papers to examination centres. Translating his words: 'NEET mein paper leak rokne ke liye vayu sena ke jahaz istemal kiye jaayenge' ('Air Force aircraft will be used to prevent paper leaks in NEET'). He followed that with a pointed question: 'Will this actually stop paper leaks? How can our government speak like illiterates?'

He went further, asserting: 'They have no intention of stopping paper leaks. The country's education system has completely fallen into the grip of the mafia.' He closed with a call for collective action, saying no single actor could fix the problem alone.

Policy Backdrop

NEET was introduced nationwide in 2016 following Supreme Court directions to replace a patchwork of state-level medical entrance tests with one standardised examination. The National Testing Agency (NTA), established in 2017 under the Ministry of Education, was given responsibility for conducting NEET, JEE, and other major entrance exams precisely to address longstanding complaints of leaks and irregularities in earlier systems such as AIPMT.

Despite centralisation, allegations of paper leaks and irregularities have continued to surface in successive exam cycles, making examination integrity one of the most politically charged education issues in India. Opposition parties, including AAP, have consistently framed each fresh allegation as evidence of a systemic failure of intent rather than an isolated administrative lapse.

Stakeholders and Impact

At stake are the futures of lakhs of medical aspirants who sit NEET each year, along with the credibility of the NTA and the broader architecture of centralised entrance examinations. State education departments, coaching centres, and student groups have all periodically demanded stronger technological and logistical safeguards.

Kejriwal's framing — that the education system is 'completely in the grip of the mafia' — raises the political temperature around any proposed security measure, signalling that opposition scrutiny of NEET administration will intensify ahead of the next examination cycle. His appeal for collective action also implicitly invites other opposition parties and civil society to join a coordinated campaign on exam reform.

What's Next

Attention will now shift to whether the Ministry of Education or the NTA issues a formal statement clarifying the scope and rationale of any Air Force logistics proposal for NEET 2026. Parliamentary questions on revised security protocols and possible legislative changes to the NTA's mandate are likely to follow.

If the government proceeds with the Air Force deployment plan without addressing the underlying procedural gaps that enable leaks, Kejriwal's critique is likely to gain traction among student and parent groups already sceptical of the examination body's track record.