Vishal Dadlani dismisses rumours of being removed from Indian Idol over NEET paper leak remarks

Mumbai: Singer-composer Vishal Dadlani has dismissed viral claims that he was removed from the judges' panel of the TV reality show Indian Idol after criticising the government over the NEET UG 2026 paper leak controversy.

Reacting to the rumours, Vishal shared a video from the set of Indian Idol on Instagram and mocked the reports. In the caption, he wrote, “Remember not to trust anything you see online. There's a whole lot of manipulation going on. Keep fighting the good fight, and saying what needs to be said!”

In the video, Vishal was first seen pretending to cry before suddenly laughing and saying, “Here I am, baby!” while standing on the Indian Idol set. The clip quickly went viral and received mixed reactions from social media users.

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The controversy began after Vishal posted an Instagram video about the handling of the NEET-UG examination controversy, expressing support for students affected by the NEET paper leak issue. In the video, he criticised the repeated paper leak incidents and questioned the response of the authorities. He also called for better representation in government.

Soon after, several social media pages claimed that the makers of Indian Idol had removed him because of his political remarks.

In the previous video, Dadlani had said he wanted to express his support and solidarity with students affected by it. He said it was wrong that such an incident happens every year, and added that it was worse that no government agency was taking responsibility and that ministers were saying it was not a big issue. He also said that those in power were not educated and urged people to elect better and more educated representatives.

He said, "I just want to express my support and solidarity with the students who have been hurt by this NEET paper leak. It's wrong that it happens every year; it's even more wrong that no government agencies are taking responsibility. Those in power are not educated. This is going to destroy India. Please, if possible, elect better people — vote for good, educated people."

NEET cancelled

The NEET UG 2026 exam was conducted on May 3 by the National Testing Agency and was held from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM in pen-and-paper mode. Over 22.7 lakh aspirants appeared for the examination this year. It took place across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad, covering over 5,400 centres.

However, the NTA on May 12, 2026, declared the cancellation of the examination held on May 3 and subsequently announced the re-examination on June 21, 2026.

This came in the backdrop of the probe by the Rajasthan Police Special Operations Group, which reportedly found a “guess paper” containing more than 100 questions similar to those asked in the NEET UG examination. The question paper series under scrutiny has been described as a “guess paper” which reportedly contained around 410 questions. Out of these, nearly 120 questions are alleged to have appeared in the Biology and Chemistry sections of the examination. The investigation found that the leaked papers were circulated through WhatsApp and Telegram groups ahead of the NEET UG 2026 examination.

Due to the alleged controversy, the central government decided to refer the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation for a comprehensive inquiry into the allegations. Based on the centre's direction, the CBI registered an FIR in the case and has so far arrested 13 people.

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