Opposition Members of Parliament on Thursday, 23 July staged a demonstration at Makar Dwar inside the Parliament premises in New Delhi, pressing their demand for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak and widespread examination irregularities. The protest drew senior leaders from across the Opposition bloc and unfolded simultaneously with a counter-demonstration by the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the same location.

Who Took Part

The Opposition rally was attended by Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Congress General Secretary and MP K.C. Venugopal, and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, among several other Opposition leaders. Participants held banners carrying slogans calling for the Education Minister's removal.

The simultaneous NDA counter-protest accused the Opposition of politicising the NEET controversy. The government reiterated that it had already agreed to a parliamentary discussion on examination-related irregularities, and alleged that the Opposition was disrupting House proceedings despite that offer.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's Remarks

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's post on X — in which he announced fast-track courts to address paper leak cases — saying it failed to meet the core demand raised by students. She offered a pointed analogy: “This has become like a situation where a child says, ‘Father, I want to become a designer,’ and the father replies, ‘Don’t worry, I have already arranged your admission in an engineering college.’ The problem is that the child is saying one thing, but you are saying something else. You are leaders; this is the time to show leadership. Show leadership and listen to what the students are saying. Their demand is clear — Dharmendra Pradhan should resign.”

She further questioned the government’s response to the lathi-charge on protesting students, arguing that rebuilding trust required concrete steps rather than social media assurances. “When trust is broken, and if you want to rebuild that trust, you have to step out of the existing system and take some steps. What are those steps? First, ask your minister to resign. What happened was not a small matter — students were beaten, and then the next morning you tweet saying that you care deeply about the students. If you really care, then why were they beaten?” she said.

Opposition Leaders Question Government's Credibility

Congress MP K.C. Venugopal also challenged the Prime Minister’s social media post, arguing that repeated statements unaccompanied by action had eroded the government’s credibility. “False claims, false claims. Nobody believes his words nowadays. The credibility of his words has already disappeared. Nobody is going to believe him because there has been no action from the government. First of all, he has to remove Dharmendra Pradhan from the Education Ministry. Then he has to talk to the students,” Venugopal said.

Congress MP Hibi Eden cited a pattern of unaddressed paper leaks, stating: “In the last more than 10 years, we have heard of more than 100 paper leaks. I raised this issue in Parliament exactly two years ago, on 22 July 2024. I raised the same issue, and more than 70 paper leaks had happened. Till now, no inquiry has happened on this particular issue, and we do not expect the government to have an inquiry on this. We urgently demand the removal of the particular Minister of Education from his position.”

Congress MP Selja Kumari echoed those concerns, saying public confidence could only be restored through tangible action. “Even now, there is only a tweet, but no action has been taken so far. Saying that we will do this or that in the future is just talk. People now want action. There has been no resignation, no regret expressed over the lathi-charge, and there has been no response to the issues raised by Rahul Gandhi,” she said.

The Broader Context

The NEET paper leak controversy has roiled India’s higher-education landscape, with allegations of systemic irregularities in one of the country’s most competitive entrance examinations. Notably, Opposition MPs have now made the issue a recurring flashpoint inside Parliament, with Thursday’s protest marking an escalation in their campaign against the Education Ministry’s handling of the crisis.

With the government standing firm on Pradhan’s continuation in office and the Opposition equally firm on his removal, the standoff is likely to persist through the current parliamentary session, keeping examination reform at the centre of political debate.