The Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on Sunday accused the BJP-led Union government of failing to curb recurring examination paper leaks, alleging that they had jeopardised the future of millions of students across the country.
Addressing a press conference at Andhra Ratna Bhavan in Vijayawada, APCC working president J. D. Seelam said the Congress had launched the nationwide ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ (Voice of Students) campaign to safeguard students’ interests and restore the credibility of the examination system.
Mr. Seelam alleged that India had witnessed 152 examination paper leaks since 2014, affecting nearly 7.5 crore students and their families. He claimed that despite the scale of the irregularities, no one had been convicted. Citing alleged leaks in examinations such as NEET, JEE, SSC, UGC-NET, CUET and several State-level recruitment tests, he described the issue as a nationwide education crisis.
He said students spent years preparing for competitive examinations while families incurred substantial expenditure on coaching and related expenses, only to have their efforts undermined by alleged paper leak rackets that charged lakhs of rupees for question papers and ranks. With nearly nine crore aspirants competing annually for about six lakh government jobs, repeated paper leaks had further reduced opportunities for deserving candidates, he alleged.
Referring to questions raised by the Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Mr. Seelam sought accountability from the Centre and demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. He also called for a Supreme Court-monitored CBI inquiry into all paper leak cases, enactment of a stringent anti-paper leak law, compensation for affected students, free re-examinations and comprehensive reforms in the National Testing Agency.
Senior Congress leader Kolanukonda Shivaji criticised both the YSR Congress Party and the Telugu Desam Party for allegedly failing to support students affected by the NEET-UG controversy in Andhra Pradesh. He urged students to participate in Rahul Gandhi’s proposed “Chalo Delhi – Vidyarthi Garjana” programme on August 9, 2026.
Published - July 19, 2026 09:00 pm IST