Former Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai on Wednesday questioned the Central government over the delay in engaging with students protesting against NEET paper leaks. “No accountability” despite repeated breaches was what led “students to take to the streets to cry their hearts out,” he said.
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“Protest is a fundamental right in a Democracy. The pertinent question, however, is this: why did the BJP-led Central Government take so long to initiate a dialogue with the protestors?” he wrote on X. “Why was meaningful engagement delayed until the protest had escalated to a flashpoint? What kept you waiting?”
The former IPS officer claimed to have consistently supported the NEET examination. He said it brought uniformity to medical admissions across the country and given students from underprivileged backgrounds “a real shot at pursuing their dream of medical education.”
Now, he said, the examination’s credibility had suffered because of repeated paper leaks. Pointing out that the NEET UG question paper leaked three times in the last five years, he said students were forced to undergo the examination process repeatedly because “the system that was supposed to bring in uniformity was failing.”
“There was no accountability,” he said. “I believe strongly that it was that moment that brought in a shift in the minds of the students to take to the streets to cry their hearts out.”
He also said student leaders had a responsibility to ensure that the protest remained focused on its original demands. According to Annamalai, prolonged agitations often attract people with “vested interests” who attempt to raise issues unrelated to the movement or “hijack” it for their agenda.
“If you remain silent and let these people with vested interests further their agenda, then you are deviating from your core objectives. Please do not let it happen!” he said.
The politician asked the BJP government to “engage in meaningful dialogue, uphold transparency, and take swift, appropriate action to address the concerns at hand.”
“The strength of any nation lies in the confidence its youth place in its institutions. If our students lose faith in the fairness and credibility of our education system, we are jeopardising the future of our nation,” he said.
‘152 paper leaks’ claim
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also alleged that since the BJP-led NDA government came to power in 2014, there had been 152 paper leaks affecting nearly 75 million students.
“What we do know is that 152 paper leaks have taken place over the last decade. If you do the math. So one a month approx,” Gandhi said at a press conference on Wednesday
Responding to the allegations, Union health minister JP Nadda said the paper leak was under investigation and assured that the government would present the facts once the probe was complete.
“This is a matter of investigation, and the government, being a responsible government, will undoubtedly investigate and present the truth to the public and the nation,” Nadda said.
Parliament deadlock over NEET paper leak
The government claimed on Wednesday that it was ready for a discussion in Parliament. The Opposition, though, insisted it would participate only if the matter was taken up through an adjournment motion.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the Opposition wanted a detailed debate on the issue. “We are demanding an adjournment motion so that this issue can be discussed properly. If the government can devote eight hours to discussing Vande Mataram, it can certainly allocate sufficient time for a detailed discussion on this issue through an adjournment motion,” she told PTI and accused the Centre of “political games instead of addressing the real concerns.”
In the Lok Sabha, Congress MP KC Venugopal repeated the party’s demand for education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. “Our demand is very clear. Education Minister should resign,” he said.
The government, though, claimed to have offered to discuss the issue if Parliament functioned normally. Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said the Centre had been ready for talks “from the first day” and wanted a “meaningful discussion over the future of country’s youth.”
CJP says ‘govt must come to us’
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which is leading the protests, rejected an invitation to meet Nadda at his residence. Chief spokesperson Saurav Das said Delhi Police informed the group that JP Nadda wanted to meet its representatives, but the invitation was declined.
“We are not going to anyone’s house or office. A ‘janata darbar’ is being held here, and if the ministers want to talk, they should come to the people,” Das said. He added that the group was willing to meet the government at Jantar Mantar or another neutral venue nearby if there were security concerns.
This came after the CJP claimed the government wasted five hours of their time on July 20 with no conclusion to talks at Nadda’s residence. “After our last meeting with JP Nadda, we lost five hours and students were beaten up. We have decided that any talks with the government will now take place only at Jantar Mantar,” CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke told PTI.
Das said the protesters would engage in talks only if the government intended to seriously consider their demands. “The government must have the intention to accept our demands. There is no point in calling us for meaningless discussions,” he said.
