Parliament proceedings have been adjourned till 11 am on Thursday, after a stormy day that saw both Houses pass key legislation amid protests and heated exchanges on Wednesday.
The Lok Sabha passed the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, also known as the anti-paper leak Bill, by a voice vote despite repeated disruptions by the Opposition.
Participating in the debate on the Bill, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of authorising the firing on student protesters during the alleged police crackdown.
BJP members demanded an apology and evidence to support the allegations, while Speaker Om Birla later expunged Gandhi's remarks.
The Centre on Wednesday also introduced a Bill in the Lok Sabha to tighten regulations for delayed registration of births and deaths, making approval from a judicial magistrate (first class) mandatory for reports made more than two years after the event.
Meanwhile, The Rajya Sabha passed the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which makes insulting the national song Vande Mataram a criminal offence.
Opposition parties staged a walkout during the debate, demanding Union Home Minister Amit Shah's presence in the House over the alleged police action against NEET paper leak protesters.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned to meet again at 11 am on Thursday, after passing the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, also known as the anti-paper leak Bill.
Rajya Sabha proceedings has been adjourned till 11 am on Thursday, after passing the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which makes insulting the national song Vande Mataram a criminal offence.
The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, also known as the anti-paper leak Bill, by a voice vote amid noisy protests from the Opposition.
The Bill was passed after a heated debate marked by repeated disruptions in the House.
Defending the government's handling of the NEET paper leak case, Union Minister Jitendra Singh told the Lok Sabha that the Centre had acted swiftly following the incident. He also said 52 FIRs had been registered since the anti-paper leak law came into force in 2024, highlighting the government's efforts to curb examination malpractices.
The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which makes insulting the national song Vande Mataram a criminal offence.
Opposition parties, which had protested and later walked out of the House demanding Union Home Minister Amit Shah's presence over the alleged police action against NEET paper leak protesters, were absent during the Bill's passage.
The government on Wednesday hit back at Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his remarks targeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah, with Union Minister Jitendra Singh accusing him of using "unparliamentary" language and misleading the House.
Singh said no shots had been fired at student protesters and that only tear gas had been used. "Since no shots were fired, the question of issuing an order does not arise. The authority to issue such an order rests with the magistrate, not the minister," he said, rejecting Gandhi's allegation that Shah had authorised the firing.
"When such an important bill is being discussed, instead of offering suggestions, politics is being played over it. The unparliamentary language used by the Leader of the Opposition is shocking; it makes me wonder if he is even aware of basic parliamentary norms... What could be more unfortunate than calling the youth of this country—who are its future—'idiots'?" Singh said.
Opposition members staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday during the discussion on a bill seeking to make insulting Vande Mataram a criminal offence.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has expunged remarks made by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi accusing Union Home Minister Amit Shah of authorising the firing on student protesters.
"I am very happy today to see that so-called Home Minister of this country does not have the courage to come and sit here. I saw his carcade and the HM sitting inside the car, looking, shaking. Why is the Home Minister not here today? Because he is scared. The Home Minister is scared, he authorised the shooting of our students. He put pellets into the blood of our students, he ordered the students of India to he shot," Gandhi had said during the Lok Sabha debate, triggering an uproar in the House.
Addressing reporters in the Parliament premises after the Lok Sabha was adjourned, Rahul Gandhi said there were only two possibilities regarding the alleged firing on student protesters — either Union Home Minister Amit Shah ordered it or was unaware of it, making him "culpable" or "incompetent".
"There can be two possible scenarios. One is that the Home Minister issued the order. The second is that the Home Minister was unaware that firing would take place. In the first case, he is culpable; in the second, he is incompetent—it has to be one of the two; there is no third possibility. If the Home Minister didn't even know that shots were being fired, it means he is incompetent; otherwise, if he ordered it, he is culpable," the LoP said.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi questioned Union Home Minister Amit Shah's absence from the House and said he should clarify whether he had issued any order to fire on student protesters after the Lok Sabha was adjourned amid uproar over his remarks.1
"He (Union HM Amit Shah) hasn't even come to the House. Why isn't he coming? The supposedly brave Home Minister of India, why isn't he in the House? If he hasn't done anything and issued no order, then he should simply clarify that he didn't issue the order. The main point is that I have the right to speak in Parliament, and that right must be granted to me," the LoP told reporters in the Parliament premises.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 3 pm on Wednesday after Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi's allegation that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had authorised the shooting of student protesters sparked noisy protests from BJP members. The ruling party demanded that Gandhi apologise and substantiate his claims, while Speaker Om Birla said allegations could not be made without evidence.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla pulled up Rahul Gandhi, saying no member can level allegations against anyone in the House without giving prior notice. Birla made the remark amid the Congress leader's allegations against Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Rahul Gandhi said that the use of force "can only be authorised by the home minister" as NDA MPs strongly objected to his allegation that Union Home Minister Amit Shah ordered pellet guns to be used against students protesting the NEET examination.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said Rahul Gandhi would have to either substantiate his allegation against Union Home Minister Amit Shah or apologise, calling it a "very serious charge." Rijiju added that the debate would not proceed unless Rahul Gandhi proved his claims or withdrew them with an apology.
Rahul Gandhi says Home Minister ordered pellets to be shot at students. The remark has triggered outrage from the NDA as Kiren Rijiju demands his apology, asks for proof.
LoP in his speech said that our education system is cruel, everything has been privatised. “It is an extortion system, our system has been captured by the RSS,” he said. He also added that the parents never had courage to face BJP, RSS, but brave students did.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister interrupted Rahul Gandhi's speech in the Lok Sabha after he recounted a conversation with an 18-year-old student who had classified people as "students, idiots and andhbhakts." The minister objected to the use of the term "idiots," calling it unparliamentary.
Education system is very expensive; more money is spent on one exam than is spent by govt on entire education budget, added Gandhi.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said he was "reassured by what the future of this country did on our streets," referring to the NEET protesters. He urged the government to respect students' right to freedom of expression.
A Bill to amend the law for the registration of births and deaths was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday amid protests by the opposition, which sought the presence of the PM and the home minister in the House during the debate on the anti-paper leak Bill.
According to procedure, Speaker Om Birla called some opposition members to oppose the introduction of the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2026. After none spoke, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai introduced the Bill.
The Bill, which was cleared for introduction by the Union Cabinet on July 20, seeks to further amend Section 13(3) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 (as amended in 2023), "in order to make provisions of delayed registration more stringent".
Under the current provisions of the Act, registrations delayed by more than one year require an order from the district magistrate (DM), sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), or an executive magistrate before they can be recorded.
The proposed legislation introduces a two-tier approval mechanism based on the duration of the delay.
According to the Bill, the system will largely remain unchanged for births or deaths reported between one and two years after the event. Applicants will continue to require approval from the DM, SDM or an executive magistrate having jurisdiction over the place where the birth or death occurred.
However, registrations delayed beyond two years will face significantly stricter scrutiny. In such cases, approval will be granted only on the orders of a first-class judicial magistrate, shifting the authority for very late registrations from the executive to the judiciary.
Opposition MPs began raising slogans in the Lok Sabha soon after proceedings resumed at noon, following the presiding chair’s announcement that Speaker Om Birla had rejected their adjournment motion notices.
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm, within minutes of meeting at 12 noon, as the Opposition pressed for Home Minister Amit Shah's presence in the House.
This was the second time the Upper House of Parliament was adjourned on Wednesday. The first adjournment came around 20 minutes into the Zero Hour.
As the Rajya Sabha met for the Question Hour at noon, Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury questioned about the home minister, and was joined by other Opposition leaders in demanding his presence in the House.
"Where is the Home Minister? Call him here," Chowdhury said.
"You fire at students..." she said, as slogans were raised demanding Shah to come to the House.
Following this, Chairman C P Radhakrishnan adjourned the House till 2 pm.
Earlier, the House was adjourned for about 40 minutes till 12 noon amid uproar by Opposition members over the entry of Delhi Police at the CPI(M) office in the national capital to arrest former JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh.
The incident took place on Tuesday.
Soon after listed papers were laid, CPI (M) Member John Brittas raised the issue, saying a Delhi Police team, in plain clothes, entered the party office to arrest Ghosh in the 2021 protest case in JNU.
Brittas sought to relate the police action to the recent students' protest, saying Ghosh's only mistake was that she participated in the Jantar Mantar protest.
Supporting him, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said democracy was under threat.
Responding to the charges, Leader of the House J P Nadda said it was a normal law and order case.
He said the police had to act accordingly, and the "police has acted accordingly".
The Union minister also said that any student who indulges in activism faces such actions.
The Rajya Sabha has been witnessing repeated disruptions since the beginning of the monsoon session on July 20.
(With PTI inputs)
Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that democracy was under threat and demanded accountability from the government.
Lok Sabha adjourned till 12 noon as Opposition continues protest demanding Home Minister's reply on police crackdown on students.
Leaders of the INDIA bloc from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are scheduled to meet at the office of Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge in Parliament on Wednesday morning to finalise their strategy for the ongoing Monsoon Session.
The meeting, scheduled for 10 am, will focus on floor coordination and the Opposition’s approach to key issues expected to be raised during the session.
The discussions come ahead of a busy day in Parliament, with Opposition MPs submitting notices seeking suspension of regular business to debate issues including electoral reforms, the Cauvery water dispute, alleged financial irregularities in the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust and examination-related matters.
The government will move the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, for consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal is scheduled to introduce the legislation.
Meanwhile, Opposition MPs, including TMC’s Sougata Ray, RSP’s NK Premachandran and Congress MP Dean Kuriakose, have moved a statutory resolution opposing the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance issued by the President in May 2026.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is expected to address the House around 12.30 pm on Wednesday during the discussion on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026.
The Opposition has criticised the government’s handling of recent examination irregularities and is likely to raise concerns over paper leaks and measures proposed in the Bill.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to introduce the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2026, in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, according to the revised list of business.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is speaking in the Lok Sabha debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, on Wednesday.
The discussion comes a day after a heated debate in the House, where the ruling NDA and Opposition parties clashed over examination irregularities, paper leaks and the government’s handling of student protests.
Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh is scheduled to move the Bill for consideration and passage. The proposed amendments seek to strengthen measures against unfair practices in public examinations.
During Tuesday’s debate, the government described the legislation as a major step towards protecting students and ensuring transparency in recruitment and entrance examinations. The Opposition, however, criticised the Centre’s handling of recent paper leak cases and called the amendments inadequate.
Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi termed the amendments a “cosmetic exercise”, questioning why the government needed changes to the law within two years of its enactment.