UGC NET 2026 Row: Rahul Gandhi alleges question paper leak, Congress attacks NTA and Centre

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on July 8 alleged fresh irregularities in the recently conducted UGC NET June 2026 examination. He claimed that a question paper PDF was circulated before the test and that several questions from the document matched the actual Sociology paper. It comes days after the UGC NET June session came under scrutiny over reported spelling mistakes, translation errors and repeated questions in multiple subjects. UGC NET answer key LIVE updates.

In a statement posted on X, Gandhi described the allegations as "utterly shocking". He linked it to a series of controversies around national-level examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). "The serious allegations that have surfaced regarding last week's UGC-NET exam are utterly shocking," Gandhi said.

The post reads, "A 100-page PDF was circulated right before the UGC-NET exam. This PDF pertains to the question paper setting, which is available only with the NTA. Nearly 90 questions in the PDF match those from the actual Sociology question paper. The same question paper was being sold for ₹2.25 lakh in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, and Rajasthan.The same network has also claimed to provide question papers for upcoming exams like CSIR-NET, HTET, and ADA."

Also read After NEET row, NTA faces fresh controversy over repeated UGC NET English questions

'Paper leak government'

He further alleged that the same network had claimed to provide question papers for upcoming examinations, including CSIR-NET, Haryana Teacher Eligibility Test (HTET) and ADA.

Targeting the Centre over repeated examination controversies, Gandhi said, "Even after the repeated scams in NEET and NET, the Modi government continues to turn a blind eye and sleep soundly, because the years of hard work put in by lakhs of students holds no value for them."

Also read Technical glitch disrupts UGC NET 2026 exam in Jalandhar; NTA orders re-exam on July 5

Rahul Gandhi also said that students should not expect the government to take action.

"The entire country knows that expecting any accountability or action from the Prime Minister and the Education Minister is futile—no investigation will happen, nor will students get justice," he said. He added that the voices of students across the country could bring an "education revolution" in India.

The Congress party also raised similar concerns in a post on its official X handle. It called the Centre a "paper leak government" and alleged that the UGC NET question paper had reached paper leak networks before the exam. The party accused the NTA and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan of failing to conduct fair and transparent examinations.