Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has stirred a fresh political row with her comments on the NEET paper leak, drawing sharp criticism from Congress leader Supriya Shrinate who called her remarks insensitive to affected students.
What Sitharaman said
वित्त मंत्री निर्मला जी पेपर लीक के फायदे गिना रही हैं
— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) July 24, 2026
“पेपर लीक होने से बच्चों को पढ़ने का और ज़्यादा वक़्त मिल गया जिससे वह बेहतर कर सके”
चलिए मैडम, अब लगे हाथ जिन 22 बच्चों ने अपनी जान दे दी उसके फ़ायदे भी गिना दीजिए
हद होती है – How brazenly insensitive are you? pic.twitter.com/UQPDImFtWS
Speaking to news agency ANI, Sitharaman pointed to students who said the leak had hurt them initially but who then used the extra time before the re-exam to prepare harder.
Also Read | Delhi protest: Hospital report contradicts police on pellet injuries
She said, “There are young people who are coming out and saying, ‘Yes, first it sort of hurt me when the paper leakage happened. But later I took advantage of that and prepared even more and my performance has improved.’ So there are young people who have taken this challenge and come out in bright colors. With all this, the government is responding, the PM is responding.”
Her comments followed remarks by Panshul Bansal, who secured All India Rank 2 in NEET UG 2026.
Bansal had told NDTV he skipped the protests and used the time to study instead, saying, “I thought of the situation as an opportunity to improve my score. So I thought, why should I go to the protest? Instead, I could be studying at home and improving my skills and score.”
CJP’s response
Also Read | NEET row: 47 NTA officials shown the door as Centre cracks down
The Cockroach Janta Party criticised Sitharaman’s remarks as insensitive. Reacting to her point about students benefiting from the re exam, party member Ashutosh Ranka said, “By this logic, every paper in this country should get leaked.”
By this logic every paper in this country should get leaked. https://t.co/kSrVyZ9HMr
— Ashutosh Ranka (@AshutoshRanka) July 24, 2026
The party also questioned whether the government was, in effect, praising paper leaks rather than owning up to failures in the exam system.
Sitharaman on government action
Sitharaman said the government had already acted against those involved in leaking and trading papers, well before the recent announcement on fast track courts.
She said, “In fact, much before today’s announcement of setting up fast-track courts and assuring the punishments will be handed over to those people who violated the sacredness of an exam by leaking the papers, by buying papers, by selling papers, even earlier to this announcement, the government arrested those people who actually committed this crime.”
Also Read | Want to know CJP’s demands? Read the full letter submitted to the Centre
She added that those behind the malpractice had ruined the career prospects of thousands of students purely for personal gain.
She said, “They are people who, for their selfish reasons, violated and bought and sold papers. They have all been arrested. Today’s announcement by the Prime Minister assures the citizens, the mothers and the fathers who are supporting their children to make sure that they pass these examinations because it’s their career.”
What the protesters are demanding
The CJP led protests continue to call for Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over the paper leak, flaws in the exam system, and student suicides linked to the issue. The group has listed four demands on its official X account.
Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
A compensation of one crore rupees for families of NEET aspirants who died by suicide.
No prosecution of peaceful protesters.
Prosecution of all police officials involved in atrocities against protesters.
Wangchuk ends hunger strike
Activist Sonam Wangchuk ended his 26 day hunger strike late Thursday night at Gurugram’s Medanta Hospital.
Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh were present at the time.
FAQs
1: Why did Sitharaman’s remarks cause controversy?
She said some students used the extra time before the NEET re exam to improve their scores, which critics called insensitive.
2: What is the CJP demanding?
Pradhan’s resignation, compensation for suicide victims’ families, no action against peaceful protesters, and prosecution of police involved in atrocities.
