LS adjourned for day; no discussion on Bill to amend anti-paper leak law amid Oppn uproar

The Lok Sabha on Monday, July 27, was adjourned due to relentless opposition continuing its protest seeking a response from the Union Government on the Delhi police action against students protesting on the NEET exam paper leak. The Lok Sabha could not take up the Bill seeking to enhance punishment for those found guilty of leaking public examination question papers either.

As the House reassembled at 5 pm, opposition members continued sloganeering amid calls by the chair to discuss the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill as the matter pertained to the future of crores of youth.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said several members, including those from the opposition, were prepared to participate in the debate but the Congress and “some of its friends” were causing disruptions and not allowing a debate.

The chair then adjourned the House for the day.

Adjourning the House earlier in the day, Speaker Om Birla had asked the Union government and the opposition to sort out differences and start a debate on the Bill at 5 pm.

Birla gave the Union government and the opposition parties a three-hour window to settle differences so that a discussion on the Bill could begin in the House.

Birla said six hours have been allocated to discuss The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, adding that more time can be given based on the sense of the House.

He said the members are elected to the Lok Sabha to discuss Bills, and not to raise slogans.

Since the Monsoon Session of Parliament began on July 20, the opposition has been raking up the NEET paper leak issue due to which no legislative business has been taken up so far, except for the introduction of two Bills.

When the House met on Monday, two days after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as the Union Education Minister, the opposition demanded a response from the government on the alleged use of force on protesting students at the Jantar Mantar and other parts of the country.

The Union government has been reaching out to the opposition parties to end the stalemate so that the House can function smoothly.

The Union government on Monday introduced The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, which seeks to amend the anti-paper leak law passed in 2024 with provisions for a jail term of up to 10 years and a penalty of up to Rs 10 crore, within days of large-scale student protests against the NEET paper leak that rocked the nation.

The proposed legislation was introduced by Minister of State for PMO, Jitendra Singh, amid protests and sloganeering by the opposition demanding a response from the government on the police crackdown on students during the Cockroach Janta Party-led ‘Chalo Sansad’ march on July 20.