Archive · 15 Aug 2026
Omar Abdullah urges Centre to return exam control to states
In India, a leader named Omar Abdullah wants the national government to give back control of some school and college exams to the states.
He says education and health are things that states should decide for themselves.
The big exams he talks about are called NEET and JEE.
Some students were very upset because they heard exam papers had leaked, meaning cheating could happen.
A funny-named group called the Cockroach Janta Party led protests at a place in Delhi called Jantar Mantar.
A man named Sonam Wangchuk also refused to eat for 26 days to show how serious he felt.
The education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, stepped down from his job after these protests.
Omar Abdullah said the protests happened because the national government was doing too much of the states' work.
He wants the country's federal system, where states share power with the national government, to be stronger.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah demanded the Centre return control of exams like NEET and JEE to the states in the spirit of federalism.
He said education and health fall under the state list and that the Centre's overreach on such matters sparked recent student protests.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned after a month-long student agitation in Delhi over exam irregularities and NEET paper leaks.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), created by Boston University graduate Abhijeet Dipke, began protests at Jantar Mantar on June 6.
Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk's 26-day indefinite hunger strike over the issue ended on Thursday night.
- Who
- Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir; protesters from the Cockroach Janta Party; activist Sonam Wangchuk; Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who resigned.
- What
- A demand to return control of exams such as NEET and JEE to the states, following student protests over exam irregularities and NEET paper leaks.
- When
- Abdullah spoke at an Independence Day event; the CJP protest began June 6 and Wangchuk's 26-day hunger strike ended on Thursday night, with no year specified in the article.
- Where
- Srinagar's Bakshi Stadium for the speech; Jantar Mantar in Delhi for the protests.
- Why
- Abdullah says the central government overstepped by taking over state-list subjects like education and health, and the exams were marred by irregularities and paper leaks.
State Governments & Protesters
Central Government
Control of entrance exams
State Governments & Protesters
Omar Abdullah argues that education and health are state-list subjects, so exams previously held by states should be returned to state control in the true spirit of federalism.
Central Government
The Centre currently conducts exams such as NEET and JEE under central control, with tests for national institutions like IITs and IIMs retained at the national level.
Explanation for the protests
State Governments & Protesters
Abdullah says the protests were sparked by the Centre's overreach on state-list matters that should lie with the states.
Central Government
The agitation is also framed as being over exam irregularities and NEET paper leaks, which led to Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation.
- Speaker
- Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir
- Core demand
- Return control of exams like NEET and JEE to the states in the true spirit of federalism
- Exams in question
- NEET and JEE; Centre to retain control only for national institutions like IITs and IIMs
- Resigned
- Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, after month-long student agitation
- Protest group
- Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), founded by Abhijeet Dipke
- Protest timeline
- Jantar Mantar protests began June 6; Sonam Wangchuk's 26-day hunger strike ended Thursday night
- Event
- Independence Day address at Bakshi Stadium, Srinagar