According to the protesters, irregularities in the country’s premier medical entrance examination had shaken the confidence of lakhs of students and their families.
While being detained, Parmar alleged that the Centre was weakening the education system. “A paper leak in an important examination like NEET is not merely an administrative failure but an injustice to the future of lakhs of youths,” he said.
He added that the NSUI would continue its agitation until strict action was taken against those responsible and the Union education minister accepted moral responsibility for the controversy.
Congress spokesperson Vivek Tripathi described the police action as “undemocratic”.
“The government is trying to suppress the voice of the youth. The NEET paper leak scandal has pushed the future of lakhs of students into uncertainty,” he alleged.
Tripathi said Pradhan should resign on moral grounds and accused both the minister and the Centre of trying to evade responsibility. He said the country’s youth would continue to protest democratically against the Union minister wherever he travelled. “The Congress and NSUI will continue fighting for the rights of students and young people,” he added.
The NEET-UG 2026 examination, originally conducted on 3 May, was cancelled by the National Testing Agency on 12 May following allegations of irregularities. A re-test is scheduled to be held on 21 June.
The Central Bureau of Investigation is currently probing the paper leak case.
With PTI inputs
