India's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan urged to quit over exam paper leaks

Congress leaders have intensified criticism of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan following a wave of exam paper leaks that disrupted the June 2026 NEET‑UG examinations. On X, Rahul Gandhi demanded Pradhan’s resignation, calling the government’s response to protesting students "terrorist" and urging an apology to the nation’s youth. The party launched a 40‑day "Chhatron Ki Goonj" outreach campaign across 28 cities, with senior members including Pritam Singh and Ranjeet Ranjan demanding the minister step down and calling for a full investigation into alleged leak syndicates and political patronage. They highlighted more than 20 student suicides linked to the controversy and accused the National Testing Agency of becoming a "National Trauma Agency". Pradhan had earlier labelled the Jantar Mantar protests as the "B team of disruptive elements," a comment that further inflamed the dispute.