NEW DELHI, JUNE 17 : AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday criticised the Centre\u2019s decision to temporarily restrict access to the Telegram messaging app ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination, calling the move \u201cabsurd\u201d and alleging that the government has no genuine intent to stop paper leaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The government on Tuesday ordered a temporary restriction on Telegram until June 22, ahead of the June 21 NEET-UG retest, with the National Testing Agency (NTA) stating the step was aimed at preventing cheating networks and the spread of misinformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NTA Director General Abhishek Singh said the measure formed part of efforts to ensure the re-exam is conducted fairly and without malpractice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
00:00 In a post on X in Hindi, Kejriwal alleged that the Centre \u201chas no intention of stopping paper leaks\u201d, claiming that such actions were merely symbolic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat’s why such absurd steps are being taken \u2014 transporting papers by Army aircraft and shutting down Telegram. Will these steps stop paper leaks? Absolutely not,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He further alleged that the paper leak system is a \u201cmulti-billion-rupee racket\u201d and suggested that the proceeds benefit those in power, including being used to influence elected representatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The government has also directed Google and Apple to remove Telegram from their app stores temporarily as part of the restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NEET-UG was originally conducted on May 3 but was later cancelled on May 12 by the NTA following allegations of irregularities, leaving lakhs of candidates affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-PTI<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NEW DELHI, JUNE 17 : AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday criticised the Centre\u2019s decision to temporarily restrict access to the Telegram messaging app ahead of the NEET-UG 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":122330,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[348],"tags":[26356,63],"class_list":["post-152750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news","tag-former-delhi-chief-minister-and-aam-aadmi-party-aap-chief-arvind-kejriwal","tag-new-delhi"],"yoast_head":"\n