Indian parliament clears anti-paper leak law

The Indian parliament yesterday (30 July) gave its stamp of approval to a bill seeking to tighten the anti-question paper leak law with stricter punishments, as the government expressed its commitment to going the extra mile to safeguard the interests of students, days after Cockroach Janta Party-led protests forced the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as education minister.

The Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 was cleared in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament, on a voice vote amid a walkout by several opposition parties from the India bloc. The Lok Sabha, the lower house whose members are elected directly by the people, had passed the bill the day before.

In a fresh video message on Instagram yesterday after the passage of the bill, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said a "strong" anti-question paper leak legislation had been passed by parliament as part of the government's efforts to tackle the menace that had threatened the future of children.

Modi admitted paper leaks in various examinations had become a major challenge not only for students but also for the government.

Therefore, it had become necessary to make comprehensive changes to the education system to deal with the problem, he added.

Earlier, the CJP waged a 26-day movement from 6 June that culminated in Pradhan's ouster from the cabinet.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today accused Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of threatening Gen Z, saying the duo were "India's past" and should be careful about how they treated the country's future.

Gandhi alleged that Modi and Shah were behind the filing of FIRs against student protesters and taking down their social media accounts.

"PM Modi and Amit Shah, you cannot threaten Gen Z into silence. First you broke their bones. Now you are filing FIRs and taking down their accounts," Gandhi said on X.