Members of the district Youth Congress staging a protest against NEET question paper leak in Kalaburagi on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: ARUN KULKARNI Condemning the irregularities in the NEET-UG examination, members of the Youth Congress unit staged a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Kalaburagi on Wednesday criticising the National Testing Agency (NTA) over the question paper leak and demanding its abolition. The protesters burnt tyres, displayed placards and raised slogans against the Union government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the conduct of national-level examinations. Addressing the protesters, Kalaburagi District Youth Congress president Shakeel Ahmed Saradagi said that repeated controversies surrounding the NEET-UG examination have undermined the credibility of the country’s examination system causing anxiety among lakhs of students aspiring to pursue medical education. Referring to the controversy surrounding the 2024 NEET-UG examination and the fresh paper leak in 2026, he said that the paper leak has recurred for the second time in three years, accusing the NTA of repeatedly failing to conduct examinations transparently and securely, thereby compromising the interests of honest students. Mr. Saradagi said that irregularities in centralised examinations are recurring because of the growing commercialisation of education and demanded that the Union government dissolve the NTA and establish a more accountable and transparent mechanism for conducting competitive examinations. The protesters said that repeated paper leaks and examination irregularities have eroded public trust in the examination process and cautioned that such lapses can seriously undermine the faith of students in the country’s education system. Published - May 13, 2026 07:36 pm IST