Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K. T. Rama Rao (KTR) on 12 May sharply criticised the Central government over the cancellation of the NEET undergraduate exam following a question paper leak, calling it a failure that has plunged nearly 23 lakh students across the country into severe mental distress. The National Testing Agency (NTA) cancelled the exam after reports emerged of question paper leaks in Rajasthan, with over a hundred questions reportedly circulating before the examination day.

KTR's Allegations Against the Centre

The former minister accused the Central government of playing with the lives of students who had prepared tirelessly. "This is yet another paper leak due to the NDA government's failure to conduct exams efficiently. The incident repeated because no lessons were learned from the 2024 NEET question paper leak. This successive incompetence in conducting national eligibility exams has become a curse for students," KTR said in a statement.

He said the Central government should be ashamed that the situation had deteriorated to the point where the entire exam had to be cancelled. The BRS leader noted that the leaking of over a hundred questions the day before the exam had exposed what he called "horrific flaws in the system."

Demands: Inquiry, Accountability, Re-Examination

KTR demanded that the Central government immediately order a high-level inquiry into the paper leak. "No matter how big the hands behind this are, all of them must be caught and severely punished, and the facts must be placed before the public," he said. He further demanded that the NEET exam be reconducted as soon as possible with the highest level of security, and that the Central government formally apologise to the affected students and their parents.

BRS Leader R. S. Praveen Kumar Weighs In

Another BRS leader and former IPS officer, R. S. Praveen Kumar, also condemned the cancellation, posting on X that it was "truly distressing" that the NEET news had emerged even before the public could recover from separate reports of alleged atrocities in Telangana. He drew a direct line to what he described as a pattern of paper leaks under Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rule. "This is not the first time such an incident has occurred under BJP rule; similar leaks have taken place in the past as well. Yet, the attitude of the BJP leadership remains unchanged," he said.

Praveen Kumar questioned the government's priorities, asking: "One is left to wonder whether they possess the same level of concern for education as they do for business, elections, and communal strife." He concluded with a direct appeal: "Prime Minister Modi, who will take responsibility for this? Where is our country headed?"

Wider Impact on Students

The cancellation of the NEET UG 2025 exam affects an estimated 23 lakh students nationwide who appeared for the test this year. This is the second major NEET-related controversy in as many years, following the widely reported question paper leak in 2024 that triggered protests across multiple states. Critics argue that the recurrence signals a systemic failure in the administration of high-stakes national examinations, with students bearing the heaviest cost. The date for a re-examination has not yet been announced by the NTA.