‘Congress chose political show of strength over students’ future’: BJP’s Vijayendra on Bengaluru traffic during NEET

BENGALURU: Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra criticised the Congress government over traffic congestion in Bengaluru during the NEET-UG re-examination on Sunday, alleging that a political event organised by the party disrupted students on an important examination day.

The BJP leader accused the Congress of prioritising political optics over the interests of students, claiming that the swearing-in ceremony of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president was held despite prior knowledge that thousands of students would be appearing for the NEET examination.

Highlighting the perceived lack of sensitivity, Vijayendra stated in a post on X, “Today, thousands of students were appearing for NEET. This was publicly known information, yet the @INCKarnataka still went ahead with the swearing-in ceremony of KPCC President at Palace Grounds, knowing fully well the traffic chaos it would create in Bengaluru.”

Today, thousands of students were appearing for NEET. This was publicly known information, yet the @INCKarnataka still went ahead with the swearing-in ceremony of KPCC President at Palace Grounds, knowing fully well the traffic chaos it would create in Bengaluru.

For weeks,… pic.twitter.com/B2djR0oFno

— Vijayendra Yediyurappa (@BYVijayendra) June 21, 2026

Targeting the Congress leadership, he further alleged that the party had previously sought to raise issues concerning students and examinations for political reasons but failed to show sensitivity when students required support. “For weeks, @INCIndia and @RahulGandhi have tried to weaponise students and examinations only to remain politically relevant. But when students actually needed sensitivity and basic responsibility, Congress chose a political show of strength over their future,” he wrote.

Drawing a comparison with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vijayendra claimed that the Prime Minister delayed his own movement in Delhi to avoid causing inconvenience to students appearing for the examination. “Meanwhile, in Delhi, PM @narendramodi ji landed at 1:15 PM and just waited. Forty-five minutes at the airport, doing nothing, so his convoy wouldn’t slow down a single NEET candidate,” he stated.

The BJP leader further alleged that the traffic congestion caused by the political programme resulted in some students missing their examination. “Congress’s real image stands exposed today. Reportedly, three students even missed their examination because of this chaos. For them, students are only a political tools to be used when convenient and ignored when inconvenient,” Vijayendra added.

Meanwhile, security arrangements were tightened across Karnataka on Sunday to ensure the smooth conduct of the NEET-UG re-examination. Police personnel were deployed in large numbers at examination centres as authorities sought to prevent any disruptions.

Some locals pointed out the anxiety of students in giving the exam again after more than a month of preparation, while some candidates said that the “enthusiasm” for giving the exam is not like it was the first time around.

While police arrangements were strengthened at all centres this year, the usual excitement of first-time NEET aspirants was missing. “The enthusiasm of writing NEET for the first time is not there now,” students said. Many arrived with anxiety, fearing fresh confusion or irregularities.

“All the students writing the NEET exam were praying that nothing would go wrong,” locals observed. The uncertainty has left students distressed.

The NEET-UG re-examination is being conducted on Sunday across the country. More than 22.79 lakh candidates are expected to appear for the examination at 5,440 centres across 551 cities in India and 14 centres abroad.

On Sunday, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan expressed his faith in the National Testing Agency, state governments and people in the education sector and conveyed his best wishes to students sitting for the NEET-UG exam, stating that they should appear in the test without worry and fear. (ANI)