‘Students First or Politics First?’ BJP Attacks Congress Over NEET Exam Disruption Claims

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday accused the Congress of placing political interests above students' welfare after reports emerged that several NEET-UG aspirants in Bengaluru were unable to reach their examination centres due to traffic disruptions allegedly caused by a Congress rally .

Addressing a press conference, BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said the incident was "deeply unfortunate" and reflected the Congress party's disregard for students appearing for one of the country's most competitive entrance examinations.

Citing media reports, Trivedi claimed that a rally led by Karnataka Congress president B.K. Hariprasad on Sunday caused severe traffic congestion in parts of Bengaluru, preventing some candidates from reaching their NEET-UG examination centres on time.

The BJP leader also targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi , alleging that while he had recently raised concerns about examination-related issues, the Congress government in Karnataka failed to ensure that students were not inconvenienced by the political event.

"On one hand, Rahul Gandhi was questioning examination systems, and on the other, his own party's rally allegedly created difficulties for NEET aspirants," Trivedi said.

Demanding a response from the Congress leadership, he said the party must explain why the rally schedule was not adjusted to avoid clashes with the national-level examination.

Drawing a comparison with the Centre's approach, Trivedi claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi took steps to ensure students faced minimal inconvenience while travelling for the examination.

The controversy has triggered a fresh political confrontation between the BJP and Congress, with the ruling party at the Centre accusing the Karnataka government of administrative insensitivity. The Congress had not issued an immediate response to the BJP's allegations at the time of publication.

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) is India's largest medical entrance examination, taken annually by lakhs of students seeking admission to undergraduate medical courses across the country.