Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the alleged suicide of a NEET aspirant, claiming an entire generation of young people is paying the price for the deterioration of the education system over the past 12 years.
His remarks came after Akanksha Chaturvedi, a NEET aspirant from Madhya Pradesh’s Mauganj district, allegedly died by suicide in Nagpur after reportedly slipping into depression amid reports of irregularities in the NEET-UG examination.
"Akanksha aspired to become a doctor and serve her country and society. Akanksha's father is a farmer. To support his daughter's dream of becoming a doctor, he took out a loan of Rs 3 lakh against his Kisan Credit Card. He even took up a job as a cook in Nagpur himself, so that his daughter could attend coaching classes there " Gandhi said in his post in Hindi on X
"A father did everything humanly possible. Then, the NEET paper leaked. The examination was cancelled. Amidst that uncertainty, Akanksha left us forever," the Leader of Opposition said.
Calling the incident a reflection of systemic failure, Gandhi alleged that Akanksha’s death was “not a suicide” but the result of a “corrupt and broken system” under the Modi government.
"And Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan? He remains firmly seated in his position even today. The same old committees. The same old transfers. The same old inquiries. No reform; no justice," Gandhi said.
"Mr.Modi, power is not permanent - it comes and goes. But the an entire generation of India's youth is now paying the price for the extent to which you have ruined the education system over the past 12 years," the Congress leader said.
The National Testing Agency (NTA)-conducted NEET (UG) 2026 examination, held on May 3, was cancelled on May 12 following allegations of a paper leak. The matter is currently under investigation by the CBI, while a re-examination has been scheduled for June 21.
(With inputs from PTI)
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