Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has come under sharp criticism over her remarks on the NEET paper leak controversy, with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and Opposition leaders accusing her of being insensitive towards students affected by the alleged leaks.
Speaking to ANI, Sitharaman defended the Centre’s handling of the controversy, saying the government acted swiftly through arrests, a re-examination and timely declaration of results. She also said some students had used the additional time before the re-test to improve their performance.
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“First it sort of hurt me when the paper leakages happened but later I took advantage of that and prepared even more and my performance has improved and I’ve done well,” she said, adding that several students had accepted the challenge and emerged stronger. She maintained that the government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had responded appropriately to the crisis.
The Finance Minister also accused the Congress of disrupting Parliament despite the government’s willingness to hold a full-fledged discussion on the issue. She said the Centre had accepted the Opposition’s demand for a debate but alleged that repeated disruptions were preventing the discussion from taking place.
Her remarks come amid weeks of nationwide protests over the alleged NEET paper leaks. Demonstrations have been centred at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, with students demanding accountability and reforms. On July 20, clashes broke out as protesters marching towards Parliament were stopped by police, resulting in injuries to both demonstrators and security personnel.
The CJP strongly objected to Sitharaman’s comments, arguing they downplayed the impact of the controversy. CJP leader Ashutosh Ranka said, “By this logic, every paper in this country should get leaked.”
The remarks also triggered widespread criticism on social media, with many users calling the comments “deeply insensitive” and accusing the government of trivialising the hardships faced by lakhs of NEET aspirants.
