Actor and: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Kangana Ranaut keeping a close eye on the entire national discussions surrounding the NEET protests. Amidst the ongoing controversy, he shifted the focus to celebrating the success of NEET UG 2026 topper Vaishnavi Das, praising his achievement through an Instagram Story.Kangana reposted a video of Vaishnavi’s interview which went viral online. The Hyderabad-based student bagged the All India Rank (AIR) 20 after scoring an impressive 700 out of 720 in the examination. During the interview, Vaishnavi shared that she celebrated the Rath Yatra with her parents when the results were announced. Responding to that detail, Kangana reflected on the role of faith in success.Sharing the clip on Instagram Stories, Kangana wrote, “I have never seen or met an atheist topper/winner. They always know that hard work is theirs but grace comes from others.Speaking to ANI, Vaishnavi recalled that he and his family attended the Rath Yatra celebrations when the NEET results were declared. What started as a festive family outing soon turned into a life-changing memory.“I was not at home when the results came out. I was in the car with my parents because it was Rath Yatra, and since I am Odia, we went to see the celebrations. We had just passed the temple when the results came out, I shouted ’20’ to my parents. We stopped the car on the side of the road and just sat there. I cried, and the whole journey was still in disbelief,” he added.Earlier this week, Kangana also addressed the ongoing protests while talking to ANI during the monsoon session of Parliament. He said that Parliament is the appropriate forum to debate national issues and demand accountability from the government.“Our parliamentary session is there – so that we can discuss all the issues in detail, and the government is responsible for everything. That is its purpose, and we want the session to continue and for them to raise their questions there, but if they create a disturbance and cause chaos there, as they did this protest, then that is not right,” he said, according to ANI.The actor-politician also opposed demands to remove Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, saying governments should not be forced into such decisions.“You cannot arm-twist the government to decide who gets sacked and who gets kept. This arm-twisting is not good,” Ranaut said.Vaishnavi Das’ achievement comes at a time when NEET continues to dominate the public discourse. The controversy erupted after allegations of a paper leak raised questions about the transparency and fairness of the examination, sparking the ire of lakhs of medical aspirants across the country.The debate has since expanded beyond the exam itself. Reports of many students dying by suicide amid the intense pressure associated with NEET preparation have renewed concerns over the mental health of aspirants and calls for greater accountability within the education system.As public anger intensified, a satirical citizens’ movement called the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) emerged as a prominent symbol of protest. The name was inspired by a statement in which India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant allegedly called unemployed youth activists “cockroaches.” Instead of distancing themselves from the term, many students have adopted it as a badge of resistance. What started as an online campaign soon turned into street demonstrations, with students, parents, teachers and supporters gathering at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and other cities.The protesters demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, ₹1 crore compensation for the families of the students who died in the suicide, and the activist’s release Sonam Wangchukwho was forcibly taken to a hospital while observing an indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
