Bhopal, Jun 13 (PTI) Police detained several NSUI office-bearers and workers here on Saturday while they were on their way to protest against Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET paper leak, Congress leaders said.
The workers were heading to Atal Bhavan, the headquarters of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC), from the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) office carrying placards when they were stopped and taken into custody by the police, they said.
The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) is the student wing of the Congress party.
Those detained included NSUI’s MP vice president Ravi Parmar and district vice president Amit Hatiya. Some office-bearers were detained from their homes while others were picked up from party offices, the Congress said in a statement.
A minor scuffle broke out between police personnel and the protesters during the detention, while the workers raised slogans against Pradhan, who was in Bhopal on Saturday.
The detained workers planned to protest over the alleged irregularities in the NEET examination, and demand the resignation of the Union education minister.
According to the protesters, irregularities in the country’s premier medical entrance examination have undermined the hard work and trust of lakhs of students and their families.
While being detained by the police, Ravi 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.
The NSUI would continue its agitation until stringent action is taken against those responsible and the Union education minister accepts moral responsibility for the issue.
Congress spokesperson Vivek Tripathi termed 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 immediately resign on moral grounds, but alleged that both the minister and the Centre were trying to evade responsibility.
He said the country’s youth would not accept the “injustice” and would continue to democratically protest against the Union minister wherever he goes.
Tripathi said the Congress and NSUI would continue fighting for the rights of students and young people.
The NEET-UG 2026 examination was originally conducted on May 3 but was cancelled by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 12 following allegations of irregularities. A re-test will be conducted on 21 June.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is currently probing the paper leak case. PTI LAL NP
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.