New Delhi [India], June 22 (ANI): The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) National Spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party, accusing it of "prioritising politics over the future of students.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in New Delhi, the BJP leader alleged that the Opposition is attempting to manufacture controversy around the NEET-UG examination for political gains.
Trivedi criticised the Congress party's conduct, claiming that their political manoeuvres have frequently disrupted the academic schedule of students. Referring to recent reports of students facing difficulties in reaching exam centres in various parts of the country due to political events, he remarked, "It is deeply disturbing that for the Congress, political rallies and theatrics take precedence over the careers of lakhs of students. They have no real concern for the youth; their only interest is to turn academic issues into a political spectacle."
He specifically targeted the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of engaging in "theatrics and diversity tactics" instead of addressing legitimate systemic concerns. "While Rahul Gandhi was busy with political outreach in Kota just days before the examinations, his own party's state governments have shown complete apathy toward ensuring that student movement remains uninterrupted during exam days," Trivedi asserted.
Contrasting the Opposition's approach with the Union Government's stance, the BJP MP highlighted the sensitivity shown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He cited an instance where the Prime Minister, upon returning from an official visit to Kolkata, chose to wait at the Delhi airport for 45 minutes to ensure that his own security convoy did not cause traffic restrictions for students heading to their NEET examination centres.
"This is the fundamental difference in ideology," Trivedi stated. "On one hand, you have a Prime Minister who is so conscious of students' needs that he avoids any movement that might cause them minor inconvenience. On the other hand, we see the Congress party continuing to prioritise its political optics regardless of the stress caused to exam-going students."
Reiterating the Centre's position, Trivedi emphasised that the NDA government is fully committed to the integrity of competitive examinations. He noted that the government has already taken prompt action, including the cancellation of exams where irregularities were suspected and handing investigations over to the CBI to ensure absolute transparency.
"The government is determined that no injustice will be done to any student. We are monitoring the situation closely and will take the strictest possible action against those responsible for any lapses, in accordance with the law and Supreme Court directives," he concluded.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Congress chief BK Hariprasad on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to deflect attention from irregularities in NEET examinations, saying the ruling party in the Centre was "trying to cover up its own mistakes" by blaming Congress.
Speaking to reporters here, Hariprasad questioned the BJP over the precautions taken to prevent examination-related issues and paper leaks.
"We have taken all precautions. If we had not taken precautions, thousands of people would have faced problems. What precautions has the BJP taken? They should answer that. This is a political blame game; they are trying to cover up their own mistakes and blaming us," he said.
On Sunday, the high-stakes re-examination for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2026 concluded across the country and 14 destinations abroad, even as the process remained under the shadow of the paper leak controversy.
The remarks come amid the fresh controversy surrounding the NEET-UG re-examination after which the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Centre called out the "fake video" being circulated on social media, which claimed that the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination question paper was leaked on Telegram.
The fact-check unit of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) on Monday termed the video fake, stating "reports alleging paper leak are unfounded and false". (ANI)
