BHUBANESWAR: Members of the Biju Yuva Janata Dal and Biju Chhatra Janata Dal on Wednesday staged dharna in different places of the state including the capital city in protest against the alleged NEET-UG 2026 question paper leak and subsequent cancellation of examination.
Raising concern over the future of the students, they demanded a fair, transparent and accountable examination system and called for strict action against those responsible for the question paper leak. The protesters also burnt the effigy of Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, demanding his resignation.
Protests were held at Vani Vihar square in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Baripada, Balasore, Jajpur and several other places.
Meanwhile, president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Bhakta Charan Das targeted the BJP-led government at the Centre over the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination.
Das claimed that in the last 10 years under the Narendra Modi government, question papers of 89 examinations have been leaked. “This proves there is widespread corruption in the repeated paper leaks,” he added.
Alleging that the BJP government was playing with the future of the students appearing for different examinations, the OPCC chief accused the government of negligence and organised corruption. “It is not just failure, it is a crime, tampering with the future of the youth of the country,” he said.
