‘We want all parties’: Kiren Rijiju urges participation in anti-paper leak bill debate
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday asked all political parties to take part in the Lok Sabha discussion on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, which the government describes as a stringent law against paper leaks and examination malpractice. The Bill amends the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and arrives during a monsoon session already tense over examination irregularities. For candidates, it joins the legislative process, executive accountability and examination integrity in a single running story.
What happened
Rijiju told ANI that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken major steps and made announcements on paper leaks and the recent students' protest, and that a concrete Bill was now being tabled in the Lok Sabha, urging the opposition not to create a ruckus instead of debating. The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, is to be introduced by Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh, who is then scheduled to move that it be taken into consideration and passed. The Bill seeks to amend the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, amid heightened concern over irregularities, particularly after the NEET-UG 2026 controversy. Members listed to speak include BJP MPs Bansuri Swaraj and Tejasvi Surya, TMC MPs Sharmila Sarkar and Mitali Bagh, TDP MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, NCP MP Sunil Tatkare, Apna Dal MP Anupriya Patel and LJP (Ram Vilas) MP Arun Bharti.
Why it matters
The government's framing is that a strict statute answers the paper-leak problem and that boycott or disruption would send a poor message; opposition members are pressing a different question, with Congress MPs Randeep Singh Surjewala, Vijay Kumar alias Vijay Vasanth and Syed Naseer Hussain and CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar moving notices seeking discussion on the alleged use of excessive force against students protesting in Delhi on 20 July over NEET-UG irregularities. The episode therefore tests both routes of parliamentary control: legislating a new penal framework, and holding the executive answerable for how a protest was policed. It also shows a government moving to amend a law only two years old, which invites scrutiny of whether the original enforcement design worked.
Prelims: Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and its 2026 amendment Bill · Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions — Minister of State's role in moving the Bill · Office of the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs · Stages of a Bill: introduction, motion for consideration, passage by the House · Notices moved by MPs seeking a discussion in Parliament · High-powered task force on examination reforms headed by Nandan Nilekani.
Mains (GS-II): Penal legislation alone cannot secure the integrity of public examinations. Examine this proposition in the light of the amendment sought to the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and the role of Parliament in holding the executive answerable for administrative failure.
Background
Parliament had already enacted the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024; the present Bill is an amendment to strengthen that framework. According to the source, a 37-day student agitation at Jantar Mantar led by the group described as the CJP was withdrawn after the government assured protesters of action on their demands. The Prime Minister has announced a high-powered task force on examination reforms headed by technology expert Nandan Nilekani, and former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned amid the nationwide student protests.