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Shivamogga: Youth Congress workers staged a protest in Shivamogga condemning the alleged NEET question paper leak reported from Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, and attempted to gherao the residence of MP BY Raghavendra.

The protest was held near the Vinobnagar police outpost circle, where activists raised slogans against the Union government, accusing it of mishandling the NEET examination process and playing with the future of students. Protesters alleged that repeated irregularities and paper leak incidents have deeply affected the credibility of the national entrance exam system.

They claimed that students who had prepared rigorously for months, studying day and night, are now forced to face uncertainty due to the cancellation or re-examination decisions. According to them, this has caused severe mental stress and frustration among aspirants across the country.

The demonstrators further alleged that the Central government has completely failed to protect the interests of students and demanded accountability from the authorities responsible for conducting the examination.

As the protest escalated, the agitators attempted to march towards MP Raghavendra’s residence. However, police had already erected barricades to prevent any breach of security. When protesters tried to break through and even climbed barricades in an attempt to move forward, police intervened swiftly and detained several activists.

The detained protesters were later taken to the DAR police grounds for further processing. The protest was led by Shivamogga District Youth Congress president Harshit Gowda, with participation from several party office bearers, including Chaitanya, president of the State Handloom Development Corporation.

Meanwhile, similar protests were reported from other parts of the state. In Hubballi, Youth Congress workers staged a large demonstration and attempted to gherao the residence of Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, accusing the government of repeated examination failures.

Hubballi-Dharwad Youth Congress president Arjun Patil demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, alleging that paper leak incidents have occurred repeatedly under his tenure. He also stated that the repeated conduct of re-examinations is turning competitive exams into a “commercial system” and eroding students’ trust in the examination process.