Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday strongly criticised the Centre during the debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, accusing the government of placing politics above students’ futures. He also sought accountability from Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the alleged police action against students protesting in Delhi, alleging that the government had ordered a lathi charge on the demonstrators.
Kharge argued that both the Delhi Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) function under the Union Home Ministry, claiming that such action could not have been carried out without the Ministry’s approval.
“You’re sitting inside a room, without being answerable to anything, but we will bring you out,” Kharge said, insisting that the Home Minister could not evade responsibility.
Kharge demanded that Union Home Minister Amit Shah make a statement on the alleged police excesses in Delhi. He also questioned the timing of the legislation, asking why the government had not introduced a law to curb paper leaks much earlier.
He charged that the Union government had remained busy with politics instead of securing the future of students. “You brought the Bill to stop the protests in Delhi. You did not bring in the bill for reforms,” he alleged.
“Because of the BJP’s politics, the country had to witness paper leaks, protests and police brutality,” Kharge said, adding that all of this could have been prevented had the ruling party not indulged in petty politics.
Kharge held the government accountable for the injuries sustained by the protesters. He argued that responding to paper leaks after they occur amounts to mere damage control and is not enough.
Emphasising the need for stronger enforcement mechanisms, he said this was the only effective way to prevent such incidents, adding that the government had failed to clearly explain how it intended to stop paper leaks.
Kharge said the Bill had been brought primarily to ease public anger and address the concerns of students and young people who had taken to the streets in protest. He remarked that the developments of the past two months had deeply unsettled the nation, with students across the country protesting the failures of the examination system, while the Opposition carried their concerns from the streets to Parliament.
He claimed the government was ultimately forced to act in the face of mounting public pressure.
Congratulating the students and youth, Kharge said their sustained protests had yielded results, compelling the government to respond and resulting in the removal of Dharmendra Pradhan. According to him, this reflected the strength of the country’s youth, a force the government had finally been compelled to acknowledge.
“Driven by the fear of losing power, the government conceded to the demands, though its underlying motive was to protect its own position rather than genuinely address the students’ grievances,” Kharge said.
He recalled that when failures in the examination system were first highlighted, the government had dismissed the concerns, labelling every question as politically motivated.
“Students had protested for months, yet no one engaged with them. Instead of inviting the protesters for discussions to understand and resolve the issues, the government ignored them,” he said.
The Leader of the Opposition’s speech set a confrontational tone for the debate on the anti-paper leak legislation, which was introduced in the Rajya Sabha earlier in the day after being passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Bureau Report
Leave a Reply