NEET-UG Re-Examination Held; CJP & Leader of Opposition Hold Protests

June

2026

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) re-examination was conducted nationwide on 21 Jun amid tight scrutiny, following the paper leak controversy in May that led to nationwide protests and multiple suicides by students. In Chandigarh, a total of 2,789 candidates appeared for the examination from Panjab and other states at seven designated centers. The founder of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), Abhijeet Dipke, has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking assistance of USD 106K for the families of each student who died by suicide. The letter by Dipke states a growing mental health crisis among students facing uncertainty over examinations and draws attention to the economic burden borne by many families who take loans for their students' education. Dipke claimed that a total of 11 students had died by suicide since the paper leak. CJP began a fresh sit-in protest at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on 21 Jun, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over lack of accountability over the paper-leak controversy. Dipke has requested farmer groups to join the protest. Gurdwara Bangla Sahib and Muslim organizations have begun langar seva (food service) at Jantar Mantar for the protestors. Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Parliament, Rahul Gandhi, held a rally in Kota, Rajasthan—the student coaching hub of India. The rally titled Chhatron Ki Goonj (Students’ echo) saw a massive turnout by students. A student protestor said re-examination is ‘not an efficient method and neither a permanent solution’. She added, ‘The issues, including mental stress, that the aspirants faced this year should not be repeated next year when I will appear for the exam.’ During the rally, Gandhi drew the crowd's attention to the business model of the education sector today, and how privatization has increased the financial burden on families. He said: ‘Money extracted by the system from NEET students and their families (USD 2.2M students per year) equals USD 13.96B; India’s entire education budget is USD 14.84B. Loans forfeited by the government of India to its favorite businessmen is 168.97B.’ Gandhi claimed that students preparing for top examinations in India spend nearly USD 37.07B annually, which is equivalent to the combined budgets allocated by the union government to the five ministries—Women and Child Development, Labour, Education, Health, and Science (earlier coverage).