Panshul Bansal, who secured All India Rank 2 with a 99.9999 percentile in the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination, said he chose to stay home and study instead of joining the nationwide protests over the alleged paper leak.
"Why should I go to the protest? Instead, I could be studying at home," he told NDTV.
A student of KR Mangalam World School in Greater Kailash, New Delhi, Bansal scored 715 marks in the re-test, improving on the roughly 706 marks he had secured in the original examination held on 3 May.
The original exam was cancelled on 12 May following allegations of a question paper leak, which is now under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). A fresh examination was conducted on 21 June under heightened security, with the results declared on 16 July.
Recalling the cancellation, Bansal said he initially felt disheartened but regained focus within a couple of hours. Rather than changing his preparation strategy, he used the extra time to strengthen his revision, sticking to his existing routine and leaving the rest "to God," he told the channel.
Bansal's remarks come amid intensifying protests across the country over the alleged paper leak, with thousands of students demonstrating and opposition parties, including the Congress, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders were among those detained on Tuesday during a dharna outside the Prime Minister's residence, staged in solidarity with students demanding accountability over the leak and alleged police action against protesters.
Asked directly for his views on the ongoing agitation, Bansal declined to take a position, telling the outlet he "would not comment on that."
He said his focus throughout had been on eliminating negativity and concentrating on his goal, adding that he believed the stress would ease once the exam itself was behind him.
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