Congress leader Shashi Tharoor advocated on Tuesday for a "full-proof system" that protects the interests of young candidates amid continuous controversy around the NEET-UG paper leak scandal and the CBSE OSM exam system.
Tharoor harshly criticised the government for alleged irregularities in national-level exams, especially the NEET-UG paper leak controversy, calling the repeated failures "a betrayal of an entire generation."
While speaking to ANI, Tharoor said, "If you run a process where the integrity of the examinations cannot be trusted, where you are in a situation where, tragically, people who have spent so much effort in preparing suddenly find that there are leaks, there is corruption, there is dishonesty, and that the entire process is vitiated, sometimes exams are cancelled, and they have to start all over again."
In comparison to international norms, he questioned the validity of India's examination system. "The world is full of competitive examinations that are conducted fairly, whether it's the SAT, the Cambridge exams or the ISC or whatever," he stated.
"Why is it that the only thing that is consistently flawed is something that our government manages? He questioned, "Why is the government unable to ensure the integrity and fairness of such a basic procedure as a national examination?"
Tharoor also blamed the Center for the ongoing problems. "To be honest, it is a government shortcoming, and the government ought to accept accountability and act to address the issue. If not, it is a betrayal of a whole generation. Only the administration is to blame," he declared.
"The government, ministry, NTA, and everyone else in charge of a scenario where what is done in every other nation in the globe is somehow carried out in India with this blatant incompetence and leakage. I believe that Prime Minister Modi's government has a general duty. This must never occur once more. This must be the final time, even though it's not the first time," he continued.
The comments are made in the midst of the continuing issue surrounding NEET-UG 2026, which has been rescheduled till June 21 due to claims of administrative errors and document leaks. While student protests have escalated across the nation, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is still conducting its investigation and has made several arrests.
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