Lok Sabha Debates Public Examination Amendment Bill; Opposition Criticises Welcome Accorded to Former Education Minister

PTI, July 28, 2026, New Delhi : The Lok Sabha on Tuesday began a discussion on the anti-paper leak Bill, with Union Minister Jitendra Singh describing it as a reaffirmation of the government's commitment to safeguard the welfare of students and the youth.

Speaking on the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, the Minister of State in the PMO said the Modi government finished an unaccomplished task to bring a law to prevent examination malpractices in 2024.

"Incidents of paper leaks have taken place in various states ruled by different parties... The anti-paper leak Bill is a reaffirmation of the government's commitment to safeguard the welfare of students and youth. The amendment... (is being) brought to make the law more stringent," Singh said.

RSP MP N. K. Premchandran moved that the Bill should be circulated for stakeholder consultations till December 1, so that it can be made more fruitful.

The government introduced the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday, days after student protests over the NEET fiasco led to Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation as Education Minister, to provide for stricter punishment of up to 10 years in jail and a heftier fine of Rs 50 lakh for paper leaks.

Top Opposition leaders on Tuesday tore into the BJP, claiming that Dharmendra Pradhan was given a hero's welcome in Parliament after he quit as Union Education Minister following the large-scale student protests over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak.

Pradhan was welcomed by BJP MPs with slogans when he reached the Parliament House on Monday.

Participating in the debate on the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, in the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi said Pradhan was welcomed as a "superstar".

Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav also questioned the welcome accorded to Pradhan.

Initiating the debate, Deputy Leader of Congress in the House, Gaurav Gogoi, said Pradhan was welcomed as if he had come after winning a war with Pakistan.

"Same Dharmendra Pradhan was the Education Minister then (2024), and now... When he came here, he was welcomed here as if he had come back after fighting with Pakistan. Do you have no shame," Gogoi questioned.

The Congress MP said two years back the Bill was introduced in response to the 2024 NEET paper leak.

"Then also the government had said it was a historic step, which will deter people from leaking paper. The 2026 leak proved that the law was a failure, and it will fail again," he said.

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had on Monday slammed the reception that Pradhan received at Parliament.

In a post in Hindi on X, he had said, "Dharmendra Pradhan is — and will always remain — a symbol of corruption and India's ruined education system. That very system claimed the lives of 26 children and forced lakhs of youths to take to the streets."

Rahul said Pradhan had to resign not out of moral conscience, but out of fear of the youth's outrage.

"And today, the BJP is garlanding that very same person in Parliament. This is not an honour; it is a celebration of the ruined futures of lakhs of children. Every student in the country is watching this, and will remember every face involved," Rahul stated.

Pradhan resigned as Union Education Minister on Saturday following weeks of Cockroach Janta Party-led student nationwide protests over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2026 examination and the government's handling of the issue.

The movement, spearheaded by CJP, had consistently demanded Pradhan's resignation along with sweeping reforms in the examination system.