NEW DELHI: Congress chief whip in the Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh on Monday filed a privilege notice against Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, accusing him of undermining the dignity of Parliament through remarks made during a press conference on the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak issue.
Meanwhile, a parliamentary panel is reviewing the implementation of reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA) after the alleged paper leak and has summoned NTA Chairperson Pradeep Kumar Joshi and other officials.
According to a Rajya Sabha notice, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports will, on May 21, seek the views of senior Education Ministry officials regarding the alleged paper leak and reforms in the NTA, which conducts centralised entrance examinations for undergraduate courses.
The panel, headed by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, has summoned Vineet Joshi, Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, along with NTA Chairperson Pradeep Kumar Joshi.
In his notice submitted to Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan, Ramesh alleged that remarks made by Pradhan during a May 15 press conference after the cancellation of the NEET-UG exam were “derogatory” towards a parliamentary committee and reflected “contempt for Parliament”.
“I have given notice of a question of privilege under Rule 187 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States against the Union Minister of Education for having lowered the dignity of Parliament and Parliamentary Committees.
“He has made these outrageous remarks while presiding over the rot in the education ministry that is destroying the future of lakhs of youths across the country,” Ramesh said in a post on X while sharing a copy of his notice.
The Congress party has already demanded Pradhan’s dismissal over his alleged failure to prevent irregularities in the NEET-UG examination.
Ramesh said it is well established that derogatory remarks against parliamentary committees or their members amount to “gross contempt” of such committees and, by extension, contempt of the House.
“I, therefore, request that privilege proceedings be initiated against Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Education, in this matter,” he said in the notice.
Referring to the May 15 press conference in New Delhi, Ramesh said Pradhan was asked why the ministry had not implemented recommendations made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education in its report concerning the NTA.
According to the notice, Pradhan responded: “I will not comment on parliamentary standing committee red flags. I will speak about the High-Level Committee of Experts/Radhakrishnan Committee. The parliamentary standing committee has members from the opposition. They write things in a certain manner, you also know that. Hence, I won't speak on the standing committee.”
Ramesh termed the remarks “outrageous” and alleged that they were aimed at maligning parliamentarians, parliamentary committees and Parliament itself.
“Parliamentary committees are an extension of the Parliament of India and are rightly referred to as mini-Parliament. Hence, the Executive's accountability to the Legislature and its parliamentary committees is a fundamental tenet of India's democratic polity,” he said.
“The minister's impugned comments clearly indicate and reveal his contempt for Parliament, parliamentary committees, members of the parliamentary committee drawn from all political parties, and India's constitutional democracy itself,” the former Union minister added.
Ramesh further alleged that Pradhan had “deliberately lowered the stature and prestige” of the standing committee because of its bipartisan composition.
“The minister's comments also amount to imputing dishonourable motives to members of parliamentary committees,” he said.
He added that the conduct of the Education Minister constituted a “grave breach of privilege and contempt of the House” and described it as a fit case for action, noting that the Standing Committee on Education is among the eight standing committees of the Rajya Sabha.
The NTA had earlier cancelled the National Eligibility cum Entrance Examination (Undergraduate), conducted on May 3, following allegations of irregularities. Nearly 23 lakh candidates had registered for the examination, which was held across the country.