Strike at paper leak mafia, not students: Rahul Gandhi to PM Modi on Telegram curbs
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday (June 17, 2026) slammed the government after it temporarily restricted access to Telegram, saying the “new trick” was akin to locking the victim’s house instead of catching the thief.
Telegram has stopped working for existing users in India after the Center temporarily restricted access to the messaging app ahead of the June 21 NEET-UG re-examination, but it remains operational through Virtual Protocol Network (VPN).
Google removed the app from the list on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, and Apple’s Appstore also removed the app in compliance with the government’s order to block access to the app.
In a Hindi post on X, Mr Gandhi said: “Telegram Ban – Modi government’s new trick to stop paper leaks. So instead of catching the thief, lock the victim’s door.”
“Dozens of students have been working on Telegram for years – notes, test series, discussions, preparations. How does taking over this facility solve paper leaks? And it’s not even foolproof; every student in the country knows about it and the paper mafia is also leaking it. So who will be banned next? WhatsApp?” he said.
“Students will be searched on the exam day. Pockets will be cut with scissors. Question papers will be sent through the Air Force. There will be no shortage of demonstrations. But not even a single blow will be dealt to the root of the disease because the paper leak mafia is flourishing under the supervision of this very government and is making young people cry blood. Modi Ji – stop the theatre. Attack the mafia, not the students,” he said.
“Listen to chhatron ki goonj (students’ echo)” – otherwise the youth of the country will know how to demand their rights, Mr. Gandhi said.
In another post in Hindi, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said that he was heading to Kota but two names echoed in his heart: Umesh and Riya.
“Yesterday, Umesh in Sikar and Riya in Dehradun ended their lives under the pressure of Re-NEET. 22 and 23-year-old children, who were supposed to fly in the open skies of their dreams, lost out to this unfair system. These deaths are the result of a corrupt, corrupt system,” he said.
“And those responsible are the Modi government and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who, instead of protecting students, have repeatedly protected paper leaks, exam mismanagement and future destroyers,” he alleged.
“Today, we will begin this struggle from Kota with one goal: no child’s dreams should ever be shattered like this again, no parent should have to lose their child like this again. The pain of every family will now echo across the country as ‘chhatron ki goonj’,” Mr. Gandhi said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said Rahul Gandhi rightly stated that the strike should be against mafias and not students.
“There are a lot of things like this in the education system of the country today and the entire examination system will have to be reorganized,” he told reporters in New Delhi.
The government on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, temporarily restricted access to Telegram ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination and the National Testing Agency (NTA) said the measure was aimed at combating cheating rackets and misinformation.
NTA Director General Abhishek Singh said the restriction on Telegram until June 22 was part of efforts to ensure that the retest on June 21 was conducted without malpractice.
“We will not let anything go wrong. We will take all possible measures to ensure that the exam is conducted without any malpractice,” Mr. Singh said. PTIwhen asked about the move.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov criticized the restriction imposed on the application in India and said, “It is a mistake to ban it, even temporarily.” Mr. Durov said in a post on
It was published – 17 June 2026 18:15 IST
