Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said the government was forced to concede the demands of students protesting against examination paper leaks, claiming the agitation had the backing of parents and exposed the Centre's handling of the issue.
Participating in the Lok Sabha debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, Yadav said the protests had compelled the government to act, referring to the resignation of former education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
"Jab sarkar dar jati hai, ghabra jati hai, to sweekar kar leti hai... Sarkar jhuki aur sweekar kiya (When the government gets rattled, it accepts... the government bowed down and accepted the demands)," he said.
"I was watching the protest from a distance. After the victory, the slogans that were raised were against the government. This government took pride in claiming that it does not bow down before anyone," he added.
Yadav also described the agitation as the first student movement to receive widespread support from parents.
The Samajwadi Party leader criticised the police response to the protests, alleging that "lathis with spikes and electric batons" had been used against students and likening the crackdown to the Emergency.
Responding to the charge, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, "Which is better, a situation where the government listens to a student protest and introduces a bill in Parliament, or one where the government imposes a nationwide Emergency to crush the protest?"
Yadav replied, "I did not witness the Emergency firsthand, but we have seen echoes of what happened then right here in the national capital... The issue is not the law; your intentions are not honest. The moment your intentions become honest, the examination process will also become clean."
The SP chief also attacked the BJP over alleged examination irregularities, saying: "How can people who couldn't prevent Ram temple donation theft prevent paper leaks; There have been 20 paper leak cases under BJP government in last 10 years."
"The BJP government doesn't give assurances, only 'jumlas'. I hope all the assurances made to the youth are fulfilled," he added.
Yadav alleged that the government had "snatched" the rights of Dalits and backward classes in recruitment and accused it of allowing examination malpractices in Uttar Pradesh.
He also criticised the outsourcing of the National Testing Agency (NTA), saying the Opposition feared "the entire government could be outsourced" in a similar manner.
Taking a swipe at the BJP over Pradhan's resignation, Yadav said, "When the Minister (Pradhan) arrived (at the Parliament), he was welcomed outside the House... Imagine the immense relief the members must have felt and the major crisis from which they were saved. By removing one 'Pradhan', you effectively saved the 'Pradhan Mantri'."
He reiterated that millions of young people had demanded Pradhan's resignation and questioned whether removing the former minister had helped shield the prime minister from a larger political crisis.
The Lok Sabha took up discussion on the anti-paper leak amendment Bill after a week-long deadlock. The legislation, introduced by the government on Monday, proposes stricter punishment of up to 10 years' imprisonment and a fine of Rs 50 lakh for paper leak offences.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)