Actor and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Kangana Ranaut has been closely monitoring the national discussions around the NEET protests. Amidst the ongoing controversy, he shifted focus to celebrate the success of NEET UG 2026 topper Vaishnavi Das by praising his success through an Instagram story.Kangana re-posted a video of Vaishnavi’s interview which had gone viral online. The student from Hyderabad bagged the All India Rank (AIR) 20th rank after scoring an impressive 700 out of 720 in the exam. During the interview, Vaishnavi shared that he was celebrating Rath Yatra with his parents when the results were announced. In response to this 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/winner. They always know the hard work was theirs, but the grace came from somewhere else.” Her post came after Vaishnavi described the emotional moment she discovered her rank.Speaking to ANI, Vaishnavi recalled that she and her family were attending the Rath Yatra celebrations when the NEET results were declared. What started as a family holiday outing soon turned into a life-changing memory.“I wasn’t home when the results came out. I was in the car with my parents as it was Rath Yatra, and since I’m Odia, we had gone 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 it still felt amazing the whole journey,” she added.Earlier this week, Kangana also addressed the ongoing protests while speaking to ANI during the monsoon session of Parliament. He said Parliament is the right forum to debate national issues and hold the government accountable.“Our parliamentary session is on, so that we can discuss all the issues in detail and the government takes responsibility for everything. That is their purpose, and we want the session to continue and they raise their questions there, but if they create a ruckus and cause chaos there, as they are doing with this protest, it is not right,” he said, according to ANI.The actor-politician also opposed demands seeking the removal of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, saying governments should not be forced to take such decisions.“You cannot arm-twist the government to decide who to fire and who to keep. This arm-twisting is not good,” Ranaut said.Vaishnavi Das’ realization comes at a time when NEETs continue to dominate the public discourse. The controversy erupted after allegations of a paper leak raised questions about the transparency and fairness of the exam, sparking outrage among thousands of medical aspirants across the country.Since then, the debate has expanded beyond the exam. Reports of several students taking their own lives amid the intense pressure associated with NEET preparation have reignited concerns about the mental health of aspirants and demands 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 remark in which the Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, allegedly referred to young unemployed activists as “cockroaches”. Instead of distancing themselves from the term, many students 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 several other cities.The protesters have demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, ₹1 crore in compensation for the families of the students who committed suicide and the release of the activist. Sonam Wangchukwho was forcibly taken to a hospital while observing an indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.