NEW DELHI: The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) on Wednesday staged a protest in the national capital over the NEET-UG paper leak, demanding the immediate resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and a probe by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).

Led by Delhi Youth Congress president Akshay Lakra, party workers marched from the Youth Congress office towards Raisina Road before being stopped by police barricades.

Addressing protesters, IYC national president Uday Bhanu Chib alleged that the BJP-led Centre had "completely failed" in protecting the future of students.

"The NEET paper leak is a major issue, and the BJP government is responsible for this failure," Chib said.

The Youth Congress further alleged that repeated paper leaks under the National Testing Agency (NTA) had undermined merit and weakened students' faith in the examination system.

"While Prime Minister Narendra Modi manages to halt wars between two nations, he is unable to prevent paper leaks," Lakra said.

Visuals from the protest showed several IYC workers raising slogans and waving Congress flags as they protested against the alleged NEET-UG paper leak.

Protesters also attempted to burn an effigy of Pradhan, following which police personnel rushed in and used fire extinguishers to douse the flames and bring the situation under control. Demonstrators were seen holding placards carrying messages such as "Stop trading the dreams of 22 lakh students."

Claiming that 89 examination papers had leaked in the last 10 years and that NEET itself had allegedly been leaked four times, Lakra said the incidents raised "serious questions" about the integrity of the education system.

"The BJP has created such a corrupt system that children of the wealthy will secure seats and jobs, while students from poor families will suffer," he alleged.

Demanding Pradhan's resignation, Lakra also called for compensation for affected students and the setting up of a JPC to investigate the alleged leak. He further demanded that the NTA be scrapped and examination responsibilities handed over to another government body.

Several Youth Congress workers, including national secretaries Hevaran Kansana and Ehsan Ahmed, were present during the protest.