Rahul Gandhi slams PM Modi over UGC-NET exam cancellation
What's the story
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the National Testing Agency's (NTA) decision to cancel UGC-NET exams for Sociology, English, and Commerce. The exams were held from June 22-30 but were canceled nearly two months later due to errors in the question papers. In a post on X, Gandhi wrote, "NTA makes the mistake but the student serves the sentence."
Accountability demand
Gandhi demands accountability from NTA officials
Gandhi also raised concerns over the possibility of question paper leaks before the exams and demanded accountability from NTA officials.
He said former education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation should be followed by action against those responsible at the testing agency.
"Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation was the first step, not the last. NTA's leadership must be held accountable too," he added.
Twitter Post
Rahul Gandhi criticizes NTA
Modi ji, look at what your NTA has just done.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 17, 2026
UGC-NET exams for Sociology, English and Commerce were held between 22 and 30 June. Nearly two months later, NTA has cancelled all three because it set faulty papers and repeated old questions.
Thousands of candidates who prepared… https://t.co/TUMhhMhjvL
Exam retest
Reasons behind exam cancellation
The NTA has admitted to multiple errors and repeated questions in the UGC-NET papers for Sociology, English, and Commerce.
A committee found several factual, typographical, and translation errors in the papers. These included misspelled names of prominent scholars, distorted book titles, and incorrectly worded questions, among others.
The agency announced fresh examinations for these subjects on September 9 and 10 due to these issues.
Key delay
Fresh exams to be held on September 9 and 10
The decision to hold fresh examinations was announced hours after the NTA released provisional answer keys for 84 of the 87 UGC-NET subjects.
However, the keys for Sociology, English, and Commerce were withheld pending further review.
This announcement comes nearly seven weeks after the June examinations were conducted, leaving thousands of candidates in limbo over their academic futures.