Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday attacked the government over the NEET paper leak and similar leaks in competitive exams across the country.

Questioning the government's decision to block the messaging app Telegram before conducting the NEET re-examination, he said that the Central Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan should first be asked to resign.

Kharge accused the Central Government of taking desperate and knee-jerk decisions instead of addressing the root cause of the problem.He cited examples such as deploying the Indian Air Force to secure question paper transport vehicles, blocking digital platforms, and providing security to the main accused in the paper leak case. He lamented that only small players (minor accused) are being arrested in the matter.

Posting on his X (Twitter) handle, Mallikarjun Kharge said,“Prime Minister Narendra Modi should ask for the resignation of his Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, because of whom the future of crores of youth is hanging in the balance.”

According to Kharge, in the last one year, 90 incidents of paper leaks have come to light. Because of this, the future of 9 crore youth is in darkness — youth who are preparing for government jobs and other high-level competitive examinations.

The Congress President also highlighted the human cost of these incidents. He said that dozens of people have sacrificed their blooming lives due to these leaks. He expressed sorrow for the parents who had taken heavy loans to educate their children so they could prepare for exams like NEET, SSC, UGC-NET, and CUET. He regretted that these parents are now only watching their children’s dreams being shattered.

Kharge also referred to the recent CBSE results controversy. He claimed that the situation has deteriorated to the extent that even 17–18-year-old children are being forced to come out on the streets to protest.

He described the entire system as “full of irregularities and manipulation.” He alleged that even the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination is now under a cloud of suspicion.

Holding Dharmendra Pradhan responsible for these incidents, Kharge demanded his resignation. He accused the BJP government of failing to eradicate corruption in the education sector, which has led to the current situation.

 According to Mallikarjun Kharge, the only demand of the country’s youth today is the resignation of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. He stressed that the government has failed in conducting important examinations related to governance.