Mumbai | Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has criticised the Centre over reports that the Indian Air Force (IAF) may be involved in transporting NEET-UG examination papers, claiming that it reflects governance "failure".
In a post on X, Raut said that the armed forces protect the country's borders, not "cover up NTA (National Testing Agency) and the education ministry's incompetence".
"This is a shameful admission of governance failure. After years of NEET paper leaks destroying the dreams of lakhs of students, the government now wants the Air Force to transport question papers," he said.
The Rajya Sabha MP alleged that instead of fixing the system and punishing the guilty, the Centre was attempting to use the military as a "band-aid solution".
"Why should the Defence Minister have to chair meetings with the Education Minister for basic exam logistics? This only exposes the incompetence of the NTA and the Education Ministry," Raut claimed.
He demanded strict action against those responsible for paper leaks and called for reforms to restore transparency and credibility in the system.
"Students deserve real accountability," the Sena (UBT) leader added.
The government is exploring the possibility of using the IAF for transportation of NEET-UG papers to ensure the foolproof conduct of the retest on June 21, official sources had said on Thursday.
The option was explored at a high-level meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia in New Delhi.
However, as of now, no final decision has been taken, and the option would be placed before Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a final view, they said.
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG, was conducted on May 3 across 551 Indian cities and at 14 overseas centres. Nearly 23 lakh candidates had registered for the test, which was conducted by the NTA.
On May 12, the NTA cancelled NEET-UG amid allegations of paper leak. A re-examination has been scheduled for June 21.
The CBI, which is probing the case, has conducted searches across the country.
So far, 13 accused have been arrested in this case from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nasik, Pune, Latur and Ahilyanagar.