Eswaraiah Slams NEET Paper Leak as a Major Blunder
CPI Andhra Pradesh state Secretary Gujjula Eswaraiah has demanded the immediate dismissal of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, taking moral responsibility for the NEET paper leak. He added that if the Union Minister is not removed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself should resign, taking responsibility for the failure. Speaking at a press conference held at Dasari Bhavan in Vijayawada on Friday, Eswaraiah announced that as part of the party’s national committee call, the CPI will organize statewide protests on the 27th of this month in front of all District Collectorates across the state, as well as outside Lok Bhavan (Governor’s Office) in Vijayawada.
Accusing the BJP-led Central Government of completely failing to protect the future of students, he launched a campaign poster—jointly with party leaders—for statewide campaign marches (Padayatras) titled “Badlav Zaroori Hai – Change is Needed,” scheduled from August 6 to 15, followed by daily demonstrations by public organizations from August 17 to 28.
Highlights and Demands Made by CPI
Impact of Paper Leaks: Eswaraiah highlighted that question paper leaks in exams like NEET, NET, TET, and CBSE across the country have put the future of millions of students in jeopardy. He noted that nearly 85,000 NEET aspirants in Andhra Pradesh alone were affected.
Condemnation of Lathi Charge: The CPI strongly condemned the police lathi charge on protesting students at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. He termed the alleged police highhandedness and attacks on female protesters shameful and demanded an independent inquiry into the incident.
Call to AP Leadership: He urged Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan—as key coalition partners in the NDA government—to pressurize the Centre for Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation and to take strict action against the “education mafia.” He further urged Chandrababu Naidu to either withdraw support from the Central Government or publicly back the protests.
Reminding that Dharmendra Pradhan himself led protests under ABVP in 1997 over a paper leak in Odisha, Eswaraiah questioned why students protesting today are being branded as anti-social elements. He also criticized the Supreme Court’s handling of the matter, urging active judicial intervention.
Compensation & Scrapping of NTA: The party demanded ₹1 crore in compensation for the families of students who lost their lives due to the NEET controversy. They also called for the abolition of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and advocated restoring the authority of individual states to conduct their own medical entrance examinations.
Eswaraiah welcomed former CM Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s tweet urging governments to listen to the concerns of youth and students regarding NEET leaks and work towards a proper resolution.
CPI will organize state-wide pr protests in front of all District Collectorates and Vijayawada Lok Bhavan from July to August 6 – 15 and statewide Campaign Padayatras across 28 districts, 175 constituencies, 650 mandal centers, and thousands of villages. The party will stage daily demonstrations from August 17 to 28 by coordinating its’ frontal organisations on specific local issues. CPI will organise Chalo Delhi on September 1 demanding to solve the demands of the people.
Principal Correspondent, Prime Post
CS Kulasekhar Reddy had thirty five years experience in journalism. He worked in Udayam and Andhra Bhoomi as reporter and sub-editor. He highlighted various social issues in Chitthoor, Ananthpur, Kadapa and Kurnool districts. He covered assembly sessions and Secretariat happenings.
