Rahul Gandhi Criticizes Telegram Ban Ahead of NEET UG Re-examination

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has joined criticism of the Centre's temporary restriction on Telegram ahead of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET UG) re-examination, arguing that the move punishes students rather than those responsible for paper leaks. In a post on X, Rahul described the decision as the Modi government's "new trick" to stop paper leaks and questioned how restricting access to a platform used by millions of students would solve the problem.

'Instead of catching the thief...'

"'Telegram Ban' - Modi Government's New Trick to Stop Paper Leaks," Rahul wrote. "Meaning, instead of catching the thief, just hang a lock on the victim's door." The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said students across the country have been using Telegram for years to access notes, test series, discussion groups and preparation material. "Millions 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?" he asked. He also questioned whether similar restrictions could be extended to other platforms in the future. "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?" Rahul wrote.

Ban linked to NEET re-examination

The criticism comes after the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology directed that access to Telegram be restricted across India until June 22. The order covers the June 21 NEET UG re-examination and the immediate period after it. A separate direction requires Telegram to disable its message-editing feature in India until June 30. According to the National Testing Agency (NTA), fraud networks had allegedly misused the feature by inserting question papers into old messages and later presenting them as proof that examination papers had leaked before the test. The agency has described the restrictions as temporary measures intended to protect candidates from scams claiming to offer access to examination papers.

User's post draws attention online

Rahul's remarks came while responding to an X user who claimed that the Telegram restriction had disrupted access to study material. The user wrote that his brother's NEET Postgraduate preparation notes, videos and paid study groups were hosted on Telegram and that the restriction had left him searching for alternative ways to retrieve content he had already paid for. The post argued that students were facing the consequences of a problem created by leak networks. "The source of the leak walks free. The medium gets banned. The students get punished. This is the solution?" the user wrote.

NTA cites paper leak scams

The government's action follows investigations into Telegram channels that allegedly claimed to possess NEET question papers and demanded money from candidates and their families. NTA has repeatedly maintained that no examination paper exists outside its secured chain of custody and has described such claims as fraudulent. More than 22 lakh candidates are expected to appear for the NEET UG re-examination on June 21 after the May 3 exam was cancelled following allegations of a paper leak.

Telegram CEO also criticises move

Telegram founder and Chief Executive Officer Pavel Durov has also criticised the restriction. Responding to the government's decision, Durov said the measure affects ordinary users rather than those responsible for leaking examination material. "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," he wrote on X. He further argued that the restriction had not stopped the circulation of leak-related content. "The ban hasn't stopped anything. The leaks just moved to other apps," Durov said.

'Listen to the echo of students'

In his post, Rahul accused the government of focusing on visible measures rather than addressing the source of examination leaks. "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," he wrote. "But not a single strike at the root of the disease because the paper leak mafia is thriving under this very government's watch." Ending his message with the hashtag #ChhatronKiGoonj, Rahul urged the government to "strike at the mafia, not the students" and warned that young people were closely watching how the issue is handled.