SIO Telangana Demands Resignation of Education Minister Over NEET Leak at Charminar Protest
Hyderabad students join nationwide outcry, call for Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation and scrapping of NTA after NEET paper leak—police pull down protest posters at Charminar.
When the vessel cannot hold: another exam season, another leak.
The Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) Telangana staged a protest near Charminar in Hyderabad on Friday, July 24, demanding the immediate resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan following the NEET 2026 paper leak. The protest took place after Friday prayers at the Makkah Masjid and expressed solidarity with the “Chalo Sansad” youth march in Delhi earlier this week.
SIO Telangana State President Mohammed Faraz Ahmed, addressing the gathering, accused national exam authorities of “repeated failures, alleged corruption, paper leaks, and administrative negligence,” saying these have undermined trust among students and parents. Ahmed also called for “scrapping of the National Testing Agency (NTA)” and condemned police use of force against protesters elsewhere in the country. He said, "Repeated examination irregularities have caused immense uncertainty, anxiety, and mental stress among students,” and urged accountability from the Centre.
During the Hyderabad protest, police were seen pulling down SIO’s demonstration posters—unlike the Delhi Chalo Sansad protests, which saw tear gas, lathicharge, and dozens of injuries and detentions. The Charminar rally connected with wider national anger after NTA terminated 47 officials in the wake of the NEET leak, which involved a 150-page guess paper with matches to the real exam. The Union Education Minister has not publicly responded to the SIO’s demands as of this report.