Congress alleges BJP links in NEET paper leak, questions Raj govt’s inaction

Jaipur: Tearing into the BJP govt over the leak of the NEET-UG 2026 paper and the exam’s subsequent cancellation, former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot claimed Wednesday that Dinesh Binwal, one of arrested accused in the paper leak case, is a BJP functionary, and that the govt had delayed registration of FIRs in order to "conceal” the links.“Binwal, the accused in the NEET paper leak case, is an office-bearer of BJP. Is this the reason that the BJP govt in Rajasthan attempted to conceal the NEET paper leak and did not register any FIR?”, Gehlot said on “X”, attaching Binwal’s poster showing him as a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha functionary in Jaipur Rural district.TOI could not independently verify the veracity of the image. The digital poster, showing the accused extending Diwali and New Year greetings to residents of Jamwa-Ramgarh assembly constituency, bears images of PM Narendra Modi, former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje, and minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore along with Binwal’s own picture.Claiming he had been raising questions over the delay since May 11, Gehlot accused BJP of “protecting paper leak mafia” at the cost of students’ futures. He also referred to irregularities in the conduct of NEET examinations in 2024, 2025 and 2026, causing distress to nearly 22 lakh students appearing for the medical entrance exam. “These people defame Cong govt, but have been exposed themselves,” he said.Rajasthan BJP, meanwhile, distanced itself from Binwal and claimed he had no connection with the party and state BJP president Madan Rathore accused Gehlot of making baseless allegations.

“The person Gehlot ji is referring to is not a BJP worker. In public life, it is common for people to get photographs clicked with political leaders, but it is not appropriate to associate someone with a political party merely on the basis of photographs,” Rathore said.Rathore also asserted that BJP was not trying to protect anyone involved in the case.On Wednesday, Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra sought a judicial or a joint parliamentary committee probe into the roles of Dinesh and Mangilal Binwal, the arrested accused, Rajasthan Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully said Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan should resign over the controversy.