NEW DELHI: A massive political controversy erupted just hours before the rescheduled NEET-UG 2026 examination, centering around a candidate from Nagpur who was unexpectedly allotted an examination venue in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launching a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks regarding the allotment of an examination centre in Abu Dhabi to a candidate from Nagpur.
The BJP accused Rahul Gandhi of attempting to create panic among lakhs of students just days before the medical entrance examination, alleging that he chose to raise doubts over the National Testing Agency (NTA) without waiting for the facts to be verified.
NTA Records Reveal User-Initiated City Change to Abu Dhabi
The controversy took off when the family of Abdullah Mohammad Talib, a NEET aspirant from Nagpur, publically raised concerns after downloading his admit card for the June 21 re-examination. The document assigned him a test seat at the Abu Dhabi Indian School in the United Arab Emirates, despite his original test center for the canceled May 3 exam being within Nagpur.
Family of a NEET aspirant, Abdullah Mohammad Talib, claims that he was allocated a school in Abu Dhabi as his exam center for NEET-UG re-exam scheduled to be held on 21st June.
#WATCH | Nagpur, Mahrashtra: Family of a NEET aspirant, Abdullah Mohammad Talib, claims that he was allocated a school in Abu Dhabi as his exam center for NEET-UG re-exam scheduled to be held on 21st June.
His father, Mohammad Talib, says, "…After the admit card was downloaded… pic.twitter.com/EmFqhIFVRK
— ANI (@ANI) June 20, 2026
However, Abdullah himself changed the NEET exam centre preference to Abu Dhabi and even confirmed it three times from his own login.
Meanwhile, NTA issued a statement clearing the air and stated that the Abu Dhabi exam city was not assigned by a system error. According to its audit logs, the city was selected using the candidate’s own login credentials, then previewed twice before final submission. Yet NTA still changed the centre back to Nagpur just 48 hours before the exam under its Student-First policy. The bigger question: if the audit trail is clear, how did the “Nagpur student sent to Abu Dhabi” narrative go viral in the first place?
BJP Takes Rahul Gandhi Head On For Spreading Misinformation
Targeting Rahul Gandhi, the BJP alleged that he chose to amplify suspicion and undermine confidence in national institutions before all the facts had emerged. The party described such conduct as irresponsible and claimed it amounted to creating unnecessary anxiety among students preparing for one of the most crucial examinations of their lives.
“Students are not pawns in political games,” the BJP said, accusing the Congress leader of turning every issue into political theatre. It alleged that concerns of aspirants were being weaponised for political gains and that fear and misinformation had become part of a strategy to remain politically relevant.
At 9:34 AM, ANI posted a video of Mohammed Talib, who claimed that the NTA had allotted an Abu Dhabi exam centre to his son, even though they live in Nagpur.
Just 1 hour and 36 minutes later, at 11:10 AM, Rahul Gandhi promptly tweeted on the issue and targeted the Modi… pic.twitter.com/syZRk1qAy8
— STAR Boy TARUN (@Starboy2079) June 20, 2026
The swift resolution of the grievance, however, has not slowed down the underlying political warfare. Observers and institutional stakeholders have sharply condemned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for launching public broadsides on social media before allowing facts to be verified. On Saturday, Gandhi took to X (formerly Twitter) to claim the NTA was “testing the patience” of the country’s youth and had “no right to conduct exams.”
Critics have slammed this intervention as a textbook example of “manufactured outrage,” pointing out that the Leader of the Opposition aggressively amplified panic among lakhs of anxious students across the country purely for political leverage. By using the distress of a single candidate—whose login data contradicts the narrative of a systemic blunder—the opposition has been accused of attempting to poison public discourse and convert student anxiety into electoral capital.
The BJP also demanded stringent action against Rahul Gandhi, alleging that his remarks amounted to fearmongering and misleading students. It maintained that public discourse on education and examinations must be guided by facts and responsibility, particularly at a time when lakhs of candidates are preparing for a career-defining examination.
