Indian Parliament paralysed as opposition demands education minister's resignation over nationwide exam scandal

Parliamentary Standoff Over NEET Examination Scandal

India's Parliament ground to a halt on Wednesday as opposition parties intensified their campaign for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over irregularities in the country's flagship medical entrance examination, while the government insisted it was ready for debate without preconditions.

The political crisis centers on the NEET-UG examination conducted by the National Testing Agency, which serves as the sole gateway for approximately 2 million students annually seeking admission to undergraduate medical programs across India. The 2024 exam, held on May 5 with about 2.4 million candidates, triggered nationwide outrage when more than 80 students achieved perfect scores of 720 out of 720—a dramatic spike from just seven students who had scored full marks in the exam's entire history from 2016 to 2024.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge told the Rajya Sabha that meaningful discussion could only occur if Pradhan, who has served as education minister since July 2021, first resigned from his post. Opposition parties continued pressing for debate under Rule 267, a rarely invoked parliamentary procedure that allows suspension of all listed business to discuss urgent matters. The rule has been allowed only six times in the past 36 years, most recently in November 2016 during the demonetisation debate.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju rejected what he called "new conditions" imposed by the opposition, stating the government had been prepared for discussion from the outset.

"The government wants a thorough discussion on the NEET exam paper leak and the steps it has taken to address it,"

Rijiju told reporters. Leader of the House J.P. Nadda accused the opposition bloc of undermining parliamentary functioning despite the Centre's willingness to debate.

Supreme Court ruling and criminal investigations

The controversy deepened after police in Bihar arrested 13 people, including four examinees, who allegedly paid between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 50 lakh (approximately $32,000-$53,000) to obtain question papers beforehand. Investigators say these individuals allegedly distributed NEET UG 2024 papers and answers to 35 medical aspirants before the examination.

India's Supreme Court acknowledged that at least 155 students had directly benefited from the paper leak but ruled there was no evidence of systemic failure beyond isolated incidents. The Court declined to order a re-examination of the test, which had been conducted at 4,750 centers across 571 cities, including 14 international locations.

Congress escalates attack on education system

Outside Parliament, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi described India's education system as "rigged" and accused the government of betraying millions of students. Addressing reporters, Gandhi claimed that 152 examination paper leaks had occurred over the past decade, affecting 75 million students and their families, while asserting there had not been a single conviction in any case.

Gandhi called Pradhan "incompetent" and "corrupt," demanding his removal, accountability for those responsible for examination lapses and police action against protesters, and an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to students. He stated that families appearing for NEET collectively spend about Rs 1.32 trillion annually on the examination process—nearly matching the Union government's entire education budget of Rs 1.4 trillion.

The crisis has extended into 2026, with the National Testing Agency cancelling this year's NEET exam after fresh paper leak allegations. Approximately 22.79 lakh students had registered for the 2026 examination, which is scheduled to be conducted again.

Street protests turn violent

The political confrontation unfolded against continuing demonstrations in the capital. Delhi Police reported that an Assistant Commissioner sustained a head injury after being struck by a stone during clashes at Jantar Mantar, alleging that protesters resorted to stone-pelting while officers performed their duties.

The Delhi High Court issued notices to the Centre and Delhi Police on petitions alleging excessive force during the July 20 protest march, directing authorities to preserve CCTV footage and electronic evidence from the incident.

Prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk, an engineer and environmental campaigner from Ladakh who won the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2018 for educational reform work, entered his 25th day of an indefinite fast demanding Pradhan's resignation. Wangchuk, widely believed to have inspired the lead character in the 2009 Bollywood film "3 Idiots," said he would end his protest only if the government assured no punitive action would be taken against students who participated in demonstrations.

Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned repeatedly before proceedings were called off for the day, with no resolution in sight to the deepening standoff over examination integrity that has paralysed India's legislative process.