Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday criticised the Centre’s temporary restriction on Telegram ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination, alleging that the government was targeting students instead of taking action against those responsible for paper leaks.
Taking a swipe at the move, Rahul said the government’s approach was akin to punishing victims rather than criminals. The restriction, imposed until June 22, comes ahead of the June 21 NEET-UG re-test and is aimed at curbing cheating networks and the spread of misinformation, according to the National Testing Agency (NTA).
In a post in Hindi on X, Rahul said, "'Telegram Ban' -- Modi government's new trick to stop paper leaks. Meaning, instead of catching the thief, just put a lock on the victim's door."
Highlighting Telegram’s widespread use among students, he added, "Lakhs of students have been studying on Telegram for years -- notes, test series, discussions, preparation. How does snatching that facility become the solution to paper leaks? And it’s not even foolproof - every student in the country knows this, and so does the paper leak mafia. So, who will the next ban be on? WhatsApp?"
The Congress leader further accused the government of focusing on optics rather than addressing the root cause of examination malpractice.
"On exam day, students will be frisked. Pockets will be cut open with scissors. Question papers will be sent via the Air Force. There won’t be any shortage of theatrics. But not a single strike at the root of the disease -- because the paper leak mafia is thriving under this very government’s watch, and making the youth weep tears of blood. Modi Ji -- drop the theatrics. Strike at the mafia, not the students," Rahul said.
He also urged the government to heed student concerns, saying, "Listen to the 'Echo of Students' -- or else the youth of the country knows how to claim their rights."
Rahul is also set to interact with students in Kota on Wednesday evening as part of his party's campaign on paper leaks and youth issues, an event that has triggered a political row in Rajasthan over its timing ahead of the NEET re-exam and criticised by the ruling BJP as "political tourism".
The programme, to be held at an open theatre in Kota, is being positioned by the Congress as the first in a series of nationwide student conventions.
Telegram stopped working for existing users in India after the government temporarily restricted access to the messaging platform. However, the app remains accessible through Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). Google removed Telegram from its app marketplace on Tuesday, while Apple subsequently delisted it from the App Store in compliance with the government order.
Defending the decision, NTA Director General Abhishek Singh said the restriction was necessary to ensure a fair examination process.
"We will not let anything go wrong. We will take all possible actions to ensure that the examination is conducted without any malpractice," Singh had told PTI.
The move also drew criticism from Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov, who argued that the ban unfairly affected millions of legitimate users.
"Banning it, even temporarily, is a mistake," Durov said in a post on X.
He added, "India's IT ministry banned Telegram for one week because some users shared leaked exam questions. This punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India -- not the insiders who leaked the exam materials. And the ban hasn't stopped anything. The leaks just moved to other apps."
Playing politics at expense of students: BJP
Ahead of Rahul Gandhi's interaction with students in Kota, the BJP accused the Congress leader of playing politics at the expense of medical aspirants who are in the final leg of preparations for the June 21 NEET-UG re-exam.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, party national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi asked why Rahul chose Kota in Rajasthan for his interaction with the students 72 hours before the NEET-UG retest and accused him of being "cunning" for political gains.
Trivedi said, "Is it because of the Congress' internal politics that you want to play with the students' sentiments there?"
The campaign seeks to highlight the challenges faced by young people due to alleged paper leaks, rising examination costs and what the party described as the government's failure to ensure a fair and transparent recruitment and education system.
Slamming Rahul, Trivedi asked, "At a time when the students are focused on the last leg of their preparations for the NEET-UG exam, why do you want to distract them and subject them to mental torture?"
"Give the students the opportunity to prepare for their exam during these 72 hours without any mental stress. Refrain from playing politics during this sensitive time and disrupting their state of mind and preparation by subjecting them to mental anguish," the BJP leader said.
"There will be many opportunities to play politics. Politics can happen after June 21," he said.