Several students who cleared the NEET-UG 2026 examination — conducted on 21 June — have spoken out against what they describe as the growing politicisation of the protest led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, which demands the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the May 3 NEET paper leak. The students, who qualified the exam, say the agitation has drifted away from its core concern — systemic education reform — and is now being co-opted by political parties for electoral gain.

What Qualified Students Are Saying

Akshay Anand, who secured an All India Rank (AIR) of 4591 in NEET-UG, drew a clear line between the cause and the politics surrounding it. 'The protest being in Delhi for students is justified because papers should not be leaked and education reforms are needed. But I do not support the politics surrounding it. I support the cause, not the politics,' he said.

Anubhav Krishna, another qualified candidate, echoed the concern. 'The protest in Delhi now seems to be turning into a political issue. Leaders from different political parties are joining it and trying to gain political support. Earlier, it was entirely about education,' he said.

Krishna also referenced activist Sonam Wangchuk's involvement in raising the paper-leak issue, saying that while speaking out against annual exam irregularities was justified, the movement's current trajectory was not. 'It is gradually becoming political, which is not right, and so I will not support this politicisation,' he added.

Protest at Jantar Mantar Called 'Wrong' by Some Aspirants

Siddhi Ishwar Singh Thakur, while firmly condemning the NEET paper leak, described the ongoing strike at Jantar Mantar as being held 'in the name of students' in a manner she found deeply problematic. 'It has turned into a political event which is completely wrong,' she stated.

Shivam Tripathi, who ranked AIR 294 in NEET-UG, praised the government for conducting the re-examination in what he called 'record time', while stressing that preventing future leaks was the priority. On calls for Pradhan's resignation, Tripathi said: 'Resignation will not make much of a difference; what matters is to ensure that such instances are not repeated.'

Tripathi also flagged security concerns over the 20 July march toward Parliament, calling it potentially a 'national security issue'.

Background: The CJP Protest and Alleged Police Action

The CJP-led demonstration has been centred on accountability for the May 3 NEET paper leak, with protesters demanding Pradhan's resignation. On 20 July, demonstrators who marched toward Parliament reportedly faced alleged police brutality, a claim that has added a fresh layer of controversy to the already charged standoff.

This comes amid a broader pattern of student unrest over exam integrity in India, where paper leaks have recurred across competitive examinations in recent years, fuelling demands for structural reform in the testing ecosystem.

The Larger Question on Education Reform

The students' pushback underscores a tension that has defined many protest movements in India: when political actors enter a student-led agitation, the original demand risks being overshadowed. Notably, the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination has already been held, but the question of accountability — and of preventing future leaks — remains unresolved. As political parties continue to rally around the protest, qualified students are increasingly vocal that the focus must return to systemic fixes rather than ministerial scalps.