New Delhi

CPI(M) MP John Brittas on Friday came down heavily on the National Testing Agency (NTA) over the NEET-UG 2026 controversy, alleging that the agency chief was attempting to "cover up the entire debacle" and warning that the repeated examination irregularities were eroding students' faith in competitive exams.

His remarks came amid ongoing political debate over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak issue, after NTA officials told a Parliamentary Standing Committee that the question paper was not leaked in full and that only certain questions had surfaced before the examination, as per the sources.

"The NTA chief is covering up the entire debacle, which has ruined the faith of the youngsters in competitive exams. The Minister himself should have taken responsibility for such a leak. Nowadays, every competitive exam is virtually in shambles," Brittas told ANI.

CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali also criticised the handling of the controversy, questioning the government's repeated clarification that only select questions had been compromised rather than a full paper leak.

"The people running our country are only interested in changing the meaning and name of everything, not in doing anything. Now they're saying that the NEET exam wasn't leaked, but that some questions were leaked. Why is every paper being leaked in the NDA government?" Ali told ANI.

She further termed the NEET system "anti-poor," alleging that it disproportionately affects students from economically weaker backgrounds and those educated in regional languages.

"NEET is an anti-poor system. NEET is against those who study in their mother tongue, and now, by repeatedly leaking it, they've placed even more burden on poor families," she added.

The remarks come as political tensions escalate over the NEET-UG 2026 controversy, following claims of a coordinated leak that led to the cancellation of the examination held on May 3 across 551 cities in India and 14 international centres, with over 22 lakh candidates appearing.

According to sources, NTA Director General Abhishek Singh and Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi told the parliamentary panel that several reforms aimed at strengthening the examination process had already been implemented, while others were still underway.

Officials maintained that the alleged leak did not originate from the NTA system and said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the circulation of leaked questions. They also defended the cancellation of the exam under the agency's "zero-tolerance" policy, arguing that even limited compromise of questions could undermine public trust.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee has since sought detailed updates on the investigation and examined measures being taken to prevent similar incidents, including proposals to transition NEET-UG to a computer-based testing format from next year.

The re-examination is scheduled for June 21 under enhanced security arrangements mandated by the Union Education Ministry.

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Meanwhile, Ali also referred to the West Bengal government's notification under the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950, alleging that such measures must not be used to target any community and should be implemented fairly and carefully.

"Muslims themselves are indeed saying that you should absolutely ban this. But BJP leaders are also involved in this export business. These things should be done thoughtfully, and these decisions should not be made to target only one community," she said.