New Delhi [India], May 18 : BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain on Sunday hit back at Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on the NEET paper leak controversy and alleged irregularities in the education system, saying the Congress leader was trying to do politics over children.
"Rahul Gandhi now wants to do politics over children. He should know that the government is taking action in the NEET paper leak case. To prevent such incidents in the future, the country's Education Minister is working on this," Hussain told ANI.
His remarks came after Gandhi launched a sharp attack on the Centre over alleged failures in the education system, citing issues ranging from the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak controversy to CBSE evaluation concerns and the implementation of the three-language policy under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said students across different age groups were being pushed into uncertainty due to repeated failures in the education system.
"First, the NEET paper leak affected 22 lakh students. Then, CBSE Class 12 students are receiving unexpectedly low marks from a broken OSM system - many are losing their college eligibility. Now lakhs of CBSE Class 9 students suddenly asked to learn a new language from July 1, with no teachers, no textbooks, and Class 6 books being handed to 14-year-olds as a 'transitional' fix," the Congress MP said.
He also targeted Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, alleging systemic failures across examinations and educational reforms.
"Three exams. Three age groups. One Minister. Dharmendra Pradhan ji has not failed once. He has failed every single age group of India's students at once. Every announcement plunges children deeper into uncertainty. Every failure goes unpunished. The Education Ministry has become a department of disasters. Prime Minister Modi ji - can you at least apologise to the lakhs of children whose futures you and your Minister have destroyed?" Rahul Gandhi wrote.
The controversy surrounding NEET-UG 2026 intensified after allegations of a paper leak surfaced, leading to the cancellation of the examination. The re-examination is scheduled to be held on June 21.
As part of corrective measures, the Union Education Minister announced that NEET-UG would be conducted in computer-based test (CBT) mode from next year.
Meanwhile, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has made the study of three languages compulsory for students from Class IX beginning July 1, 2026, while clarifying that there will be no Board examination for the third language (R3) in Class X.
In a circular issued on May 15, the Board stated that at least two of the three languages must be native Indian languages, in line with the National Education Policy 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023.
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