NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Tuesday witnessed an acrimonious debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 as the government defended the tougher law as necessary deterrent while the Opposition dismissed it as a belated attempt to salvage the Centre’s credibility after the NEET paper leak controversy.
The nine-hour marathon debate mostly shifted beyond the provisions of the bill as Opposition members raised the alleged police action against protesting students and demanded that Union home minister Amit Shah order an SIT probe.
However, the Treasury bench maintained that the government had acted swiftly to protect students’ interests by bringing in a tougher law.
Opening the discussion, Union minister Jitendra Singh said incidents of question paper leaks and examination-related malpractices have occurred in different states over the years, highlighting the need for a comprehensive national legal framework.
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 Union education minister, to provide for stricter punishment of up to 10 years in jail and a heftier fine of `50 lakh for paper leaks.
The House witnessed noisy scenes after Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made some strong remarks about new education minister Pralhad Joshi, prompting Treasury bench members to seek an apology. The remarks were later expunged from records.
In a strongly worded speech, Priyanka accused the government of betraying the trust of young Indians. She said Modi and Shah must answer as to who authorised the use of pellet guns and AK-47s on protesting students.
Congress deputy leader Gaurav Gogoi, who opened the debate from the Opposition side, said the amendments exposed the government’s failure to prevent repeated paper leaks despite the existence of a law.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor argued that India must move away from a high-stress model of exam to a computer-based system, with multiple attempts throughout the year. “The National Testing Agency needs strong professional cadres and accountability must be established,” he said.
BJP MP Tejasvi Surya said the recurrence of paper leaks across the country underscored the need for a stronger legal framework. Taking a swipe at the Congress, he said the previous UPA government had failed to enact similar legislation despite having the opportunity.
He also criticised the Congress’ education record, saying India continued with an outdated system for decades because no new education policy had been introduced during its tenure.
Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Eknath Shinde said the Centre had acted responsibly by ensuring accountability. Pointing out that Pradhan had resigned, he said the government conducted the NEET re-examination within 37 days and declared the results within 25 days.
While DMK MPs argued for abolishing NEET, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav compared police action at Delhi protest to Emergency and said that Pradhan’s exit saved Modi.
The Lok Sabha will continue the discussion on the bill on Wednesday.
