R. Prasanna Kumar, the president of the Shivamogga District Congress Committee in Karnataka, has called for the resignation of Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan due to the recent leak of the NEET-UG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Undergraduates) question paper. During a press conference on May 14, 2026, Kumar expressed that the Central government has failed to conduct the examination properly, endangering the futures of over 22 lakh students. He highlighted that this incident is not isolated, pointing to a history of similar failures by the government in preventing question paper leaks. Kumar proposed that instead of a nationwide re-examination, it should be limited to states where leaks have been reported. He also suggested that states should be empowered to fill their seats through their own testing mechanisms. Additionally, Kumar criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent austerity measures, arguing that they reflect the dire state of the national economy and called for the government to publish a white paper detailing the economic situation.