Hyderabad: Chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday said repeated paper leaks had demonetised the future of students, expressing concern over the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination and the distress caused to lakhs of aspirants and their families.Reacting to the controversy, the CM said the credibility of national examinations must be protected at all costs. Any individuals or networks involved in paper leaks or corruption must face the strictest punishment, irrespective of their influence or position, he added.“Nearly 22.7 lakh students appeared for the examination across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad on May 3 now face renewed anxiety because of the paper leaks and serious irregularities in the examination process,” Revanth Reddy said in a post on X.The CM said students prepare for competitive examinations with immense sacrifice, emotional pressure and financial burden, and added that such exams should remain instruments of opportunity and merit rather than becoming a source of uncertainty and stress.“The Telangana govt stands firmly with the students and parents affected by this crisis. We urge the Centre and the National Testing Agency to conduct a transparent, time-bound and credible investigation, while ensuring that innocent students are not forced to suffer repeatedly because of systemic failures,” he said.Revanth Reddy further remarked that the similarities between BJP and BRS in failures, betrayal and organised corruption are glaring.Assuring support to students from the state, the CM said Telangana would continue to stand by aspirants and demanded stronger safeguards, technological protections and institutional accountability to prevent such incidents from recurring.
