Dharmendra Pradhan (file photo)

New Delhi: Already facing demands for his resignation over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan may now face privilege proceedings in the Rajya Sabha after a notice was served against him for bringing down the dignity of Parliament through comments made at a press conference after the paper leak.Congress chief whip in the Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh on Monday served a notice against Pradhan, accusing him of making “derogatory” remarks against a parliamentary committee which, according to Ramesh, “reveals his contempt for Parliament.”“I have given a notice of question of privilege under Rule 187 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States against the Union Education Minister for bringing down the dignity of Parliament and Parliamentary Committees. “He has made these derogatory remarks while heading the Education Ministry which is destroying the future of millions of youth across the country,” the Congress leader wrote in an ex-post sharing a copy of his notice.Ramesh said it was “well established” that any derogatory reference to parliamentary committees or their members amounts to “gross contempt” of such panels and, by extension, contempt of the House.“Therefore, I request that privilege proceedings be initiated against Shri Dharmendra Pradhan in this matter,” he said in the notice.Pradhan made the alleged derogatory remarks at a press conference three days later on May 15. National Testing Agency (NTA) canceled NEET-UG 2026 exam after paper leak.In the same press conference, Pradhan announced re-conduct of the exam on June 21 and said that, from next year, the medical entrance exam will be conducted in online mode.According to Ramesh, Pradhan was asked by journalists why the Education Ministry had not implemented the recommendations made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education in its report on NTA.“To this question, the Minister replied thus: ‘I will not comment on the red flags of the Parliamentary Standing Committee. I will speak about the High-level Committee of Experts/Radhakrishnan Committee. The Parliamentary Standing Committee has members from the Opposition. He writes things in a special way, you also know this. Therefore, I will not speak on the standing committee,” Ramesh wrote.“Parliamentary committees are an extension of the Parliament of India, and are known as mini-Parliament. Therefore, accountability of the executive to the legislature and its parliamentary committees is a fundamental principle of India’s democratic politics. The above conduct of the Education Minister is a serious breach of privilege and contempt of the House. In fact, this is a perfect case of breach of privilege and contempt and a case appropriate for action by you as the Standing Committee on Education is one of the eight standing committees of the Rajya Sabha,” he said.The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Graduate) was held on May 3 and was later canceled after irregularities came to light. Around 23 lakh candidates had registered for the test, which was administered by the agency across the country.(With PTI inputs)