Kerala Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan targets PM Modi over NEET irregularities; hits out at Centre for police crackdown on student protests in New Delhi

Leader of the Opposition in Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan has alleged that the NEET-UG examination is being undermined by “large-scale fraud, deception and criminality,” which affected more than 25 lakh students.

While demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, he added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not evade responsibility for the alleged irregularities.

Inaugurating a ‘Charter of Rights’ march taken out by the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) to Kerala Lok Bhavan on Thursday (July 23, 2026), organised in solidarity with the youth protest spearheaded by the Cockroach Janata Party in New Delhi, Mr. Vijayan said the students who had worked hard for the examination were being cheated through organised malpractice.

He attributed the purported question paper leak to the handiwork of a “mafia” and alleged that those responsible for the scam were being protected. While the suspected racket was centred in Rajasthan, the identities of those who led it had not been widely disclosed. Alleging that a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader named Dinesh headed the network, he accused the authorities of shielding him.

“The Prime Minister is unwilling even to name the person who led this massive fraud. The government’s reluctance to identify the kingpin reflected an attempt to protect those behind the fraud,” Mr. Vijayan alleged, while also accusing a section of the media of refraining from publicising the person’s identity.

Pinarayi Vijayan addresses students outside the Lok Bhavan in Kerala on Thursday | Video Credit: Nirmal Harindran

Drawing a comparison with the securities scam of the early 1990s, Mr. Vijayan said the name of Harshad Mehta had become widely known across the country at the time, whereas the suspected mastermind of the NEET scam remained largely unknown because of official protection. Besides, serious criminal charges have not been invoked against those involved.

The veteran CPI(M) leader was also critical of the police action on the students protesting in New Delhi over the alleged NEET irregularities. He alleged that the police excesses were being carried out at the behest of the Union government.

Around 70 students, including nearly 40 SFI activists, had been hospitalised following the clashes, he claimed, adding that one girl was in the intensive care unit with life-threatening injuries allegedly caused by the police assault.

He said the while the Centre thought the police action would suppress the protests, the movement had instead gathered momentum, with large numbers of students and youth converging on the national capital. New Delhi had thus become the focal point of a nationwide student-youth agitation.

The SFI, he added, had been playing an active role in the ongoing protest in the national capital. He also criticised the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) for “not participating in the agitation” and alleged that the Kerala Students’ Union (KSU) had not even issued a statement on the issue.