BJP objects to ‘paper leak’ term for NEET-UG at stormy Parliamentary meet

THe habituate of the word “ leak out” was objected to by Bharatiya Janata company (BJP) and the subject Testing office (NTA) at a parliamentary panel meeting on Thursday while discussing the cancellation of this year's NEET-UG paper for reconduction amid breach allegations.The meeting of Parliament standing committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports turned fractious when BJP MPs objected to the use of the word “leak” — opposing it both in the proceedings and in the agenda circulated three days prior, according to an earlier HT report. Opposition members objected to the BJP’s position. NTA and the ministry maintained that “it was not a leak.”The 31-member committee is headed by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh and also includes 17 BJP members, four Congress, three Samajwadi Party, two Trinamool Congress and, and one each from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP); three seats are currently vacant.The NTA on May 12 said it has decided to cancel the NEET (UG) 2026 examination conducted on May 3, 2026, and to re-conduct the examination on dates that will be notified separately.NEET (UG) is the nationwide entrance examination conducted by the NTA for admission in undergraduate medical programmes.NTA said the decision has been taken in view of the inputs received, taken together with the findings shared by the law enforcement agencies, established that the present examination process could not be allowed to stand.Inside details from Parliamentary panel meetThe Centre told the Parliamentary panel on Thursday it is considering capping the number of attempts and introducing an upper age limit for NEET-UG aspirants - a significant shift for an examination that currently has no such restrictions - and that these measures, alongside a gradual shift to computer-based testing (CBT), form the next phase of reforms flowing from the Radhakrishnan committee's recommendations.NEET-UG does not have an upper age limit and no cap on attempts currently; the only eligibility threshold is a minimum age of 17. The three reforms - attempt and age limits, CBT transition, and multi-session and multi-stage testing - were presented to the Parliament standing committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports as "long-term measures" to be implemented in consultation with the health ministry. Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan had separately announced on May 15 that NEET-UG will move to a digital format from next year.On the investigation update, NTA told the panel it received inputs on “alleged malpractice” late on May 7, escalated them to central agencies on May 8, and the examination was cancelled on May 12. The re-test will be held on June 21.The CBI, which is investigating the case, has arrested 10 accused so far. In its remand application on May 14, the agency cited the education ministry’s complaint that the exam was “compromised due to circulation of confidential examinations in PDF format through WhatsApp prior to the examination and that some of the circulated questions allegedly matched with the actual examination paper.”