Paper leak Bill debate opens amid Pradhan welcome row
NDA allies TDP and Shiv Sena urged the Govt to conduct NEET-UG multiple times, saying it would benefit students
Top Opposition leaders on Tuesday tore into the BJP, claiming that Dharmendra Pradhan was given a hero’s welcome in the Parliament after he quit as Union education minister following large-scale student protests over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak.
Participating in the debate, Priyanka Gandhi said Pradhan was welcomed as a superstar. Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav also questioned the welcome accorded to Pradhan.
Ending a week-long logjam, the Lok Sabha began the discussion on the anti-paper leak Bill, with Union minister Jitendra Singh describing it as a reaffirmation of the Government’s commitment to safeguard the welfare of students and the youth.
“Incidents of paper leaks have taken place in various States ruled by different parties... The anti-paper leak Bill is a reaffirmation of the Government’s commitment to safeguard the welfare of students and youth. The amendment... (is being) brought to make the law more stringent,” Singh said.
RSP MP NK Premchandran moved that the Bill should be circulated for stakeholder consultations till December 1, so that it can be made more fruitful.
BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj accused the Opposition of displaying selective outrage over examination paper leaks, saying such incidents also happened during the Congress-led UPA regime and asserted that the Union Government had undertaken structural reforms to strengthen the examination system.
Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Priyanka said if he wants to win over Gen Z, then videos changing camera angles won’t help as this generation has the enormous ability to identify lies. “Injustice has been done with youths under your Government, accept the truth. Prime Minister Narendra Modi must take responsibility,” she said.
TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee said the amendment Bill on paper leaks will not wash away the 12 years of the “incompetence and failure” of the BJP-led Government even as he extended TMC’s support to the proposed legislation.
NDA allies TDP and Shiv Sena urged the Government in the Lok Sabha to conduct the NEET-UG examination multiple times a year instead of just once, saying it would benefit students who are unable to appear for the exam on a specified date due to personal emergencies. While TDP MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu said that even if a close family member dies on the day of the examination, a candidate has no choice but to appear for the exam, Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde said that there is a need to change the system of holding this exam on a specified day only.
