Holding Home Minister Amit Shah responsible for alleged police brutalities on protesting students, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday (July 30, 2026) said that “Jan Shakti” (people’s power) will “drag him out” one day to make him accountable.
Speaking on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, Mr. Kharge criticised the absence of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister from the House, saying neither had spoken despite so much unrest.
“You are the Home Minister, and despite so much unrest, you are not opening your mouth. Has someone stitched it? He should have spoken openly,” Mr. Kharge said. “In the interest of the nation, he should have borne that insult,” he added.
Mr. Kharge warned the government, stating that the students of the country will teach a bigger lesson than the one they have taught it just now.
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Mr. Kharge said that if the Home Minister could not answer questions about who ordered the lathi-charge and tear-gas attack on students, and who the people in plain clothes beating students were, then the Home Minister should resign. “I felt ashamed. I don’t know if they (indicating towards NDA MPs) felt ashamed,” he said. He also raised the issue of police action in states, such as West Bengal and Bihar, alleging that students were fired upon with AK-47 rifles.
When Mr. Kharge made some references from Manu Smriti, NDA MPs opposed it, and Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha J.P. Nadda said they were not factual and could create discord in society. Mr. Kharge alleged that the government brought the Bill against paper leaks to pacify the country’s youth, not to address the issue, as the government has not explained how it would conduct examinations in a way that could prevent paper leaks.
He said that provisions for higher fines, stricter punishment, and fast-track courts would not make any difference in cases of paper leaks. What would make a difference, he argued, is how the government conducts these examinations.
Mr. Kharge added that unless institutions and the examination system are reformed and accountability is fixed, paper leaks will continue to occur, and “we will be discussing the same thing here again”.
He asserted that Rahul Gandhi had raised the issue of paper leaks during his Bharat Jodo Yatra and that the Opposition had also demanded a stringent law in 2024, when the Bill was first passed.
However, he alleged that the government enacted the law in haste for political reasons.
“Now, within two years, you have to amend it,” Mr. Kharge said, adding that “we welcome this Amendment Bill, but it is still incomplete”.
He also said that the Bill failed to address how to prevent paper leaks.
Congratulating the youth for forcing the government to remove Dharmendra Pradhan as Education Minister, he said that because of their strong voice, along with the Opposition’s protests in Parliament, the government finally bowed to their demands.
He claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to remove Mr. Pradhan to save his own chair.
Mr. Kharge criticised the government’s unwillingness to engage in dialogue, saying that young people seeking discussions were not only labelled anti-nationals but were also lathi-charged, tear-gassed, and injured severely by pellet guns, and many had to be admitted to hospital ICUs.
He further alleged that paper leaks had occurred several times across the country during the Modi government’s tenure, but the government remained asleep. He also claimed that the main accused in the 2024 NEET paper leak case was given a clean chit.
“Hang the person who was involved in the paper leak. You are giving him a clean chit,” Mr. Kharge said, adding, “Your achievement is zero”.
He also claimed that in the past 10 years, question papers for 152 state and central examinations were leaked and no one has ever been punished for the crime.
Mr. Kharge stated that if this is the situation of the investigation and legal system, having provisions of stringent punishment in the law will not ensure justice.
Noting that paper leaks were causing mental stress to students, Mr. Kharge also claimed that in Mr. Modi’s tenure, 1.25 lakh students committed suicide due to the government’s failure, stating that instead of bringing trust in the education system, it has only done damage control and headline management.
“After pressure due to nationwide protests by youths, for the first time in 12 years, the Education Minister has resigned. The Higher Education Secretary was transferred. The government claimed to remove 47 officials of the NTA (National Testing Agency),” Mr. Kharge said.
He added, “Don’t take action only to show off. Do it to win people’s hearts and protect the interest of children”.
Observing that re-examination is not a solution, he said that in the 2026 NEET re-examination, overall two lakh students and almost double this number of female students couldn’t re-appear because it put a lot of mental and financial stress on their parents.
He demanded that a time-bound annual calendar for all examinations should be made legally so that the government would remain accountable for holding the examinations timely and students will not remain uncertain.
He claimed that 10 lakh teacher posts were lying vacant across the country.
“You (government) talk of Viksit Bharat, but do not take measures to fill 10 lakh vacant posts,” Mr. Kharge alleged.
The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said there is no place for narrow thinking, ideology, superstition or imposition of any one thought in educational institutions, alleging that the government was recruiting RSS members to posts like Vice-Chancellors and Professors across universities.
He observed that India should increase educational spending to 6% of the country’s GDP instead of 3% at present and claimed that education has become a huge business while children from poor backgrounds face neglect.
“The government’s policies repeatedly remind us of the humanistic thinking that is mentioned in Manu Smriti. While the Congress-led UPA government gave every citizen the right to education, these people are snatching away the right,” Mr. Kharge alleged.
He also demanded that the government present a national youth employment strategy to Parliament.
Mr. Kharge claimed that 30 lakh posts are lying vacant across the country, alleging that the Centre was not filling the vacancies as a significant portion of the jobs would go to the backward classes, and demanded that the posts be filled immediately.
He also demanded that a high-powered committee monitored by the Supreme Court should independently probe it.
