New Delhi (India) July 9: Fresh allegations of irregularities in the UGC-NET exam are doing the rounds, this time from Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi. The Congress leader alleged that a document pertaining to the UGC-NET question paper was circulated prior to the exam and remarkably matched many questions of the Sociology paper. He also attacked the central government for its silence despite repeated allegations of paper leaks in competitive examinations.

Rahul Gandhi Targets Centre Over Exam Leak Claims

Taking to social media platform X, Rahul said a 100-page PDF related to question paper-setting materials-exclusive with the NTA-was being circulated before the UGC-NET. He added that about 90% of questions in the document were also found in the original Sociology question paper. He also claimed that the paper is being sold for ₹2.25 lakh in Bihar, UP, Haryana, Delhi, and Rajasthan. The network was also boasting about getting questions for CSIR NET, HTET, ADA exams. 

"The serious allegations that have surfaced regarding last week's UGC-NET exam are utterly shocking. Just a few weeks after the NEET paper leak, reports are now emerging that a 100-page PDF was circulated right before the UGC-NET exam," Gandhi said in Hindi.

"Even after the repeated scams in NEET and NET, the Modi government continues to turn a blind eye and sleep soundly, because the years of hard work put in by lakhs of students -- who burn the midnight oil -- holds no value for them," he added.

Gandhi said, "The only tool for change is our collective voice -- the resounding 'chhatron ki goonj' (echo of students) across the country, which will bring about an education revolution in India.”

NTA Yet To Answer Fresh Allegations

The NTA is yet to respond to Gandhi’s fresh allegations about the leaked Sociology paper and the confidential PDF’s distribution. However, the fresh claims are expected to further increase scrutiny on the agency that has faced multiple allegations in conducting major competitive examinations in the past two years.

UGC-NET Controversy Deepens After Fresh Claims

The fresh claims come as the UGC NET session was fraught with controversies. A report revealed that 67 questions from a prior test re-emerged in the English paper of UGC-NET.

Students from the Sociology and Psychology papers also reported misspellings, incorrect scholar names, difficult Hindi translations, and some questions outside the syllabus. The NTA has previously admitted that they were investigating complaints regarding the Sociology paper and the issue was raised after they became aware of it from media reports and social media posts.