Opposition Slams Govt Over Exam Bill, Police Action on Students

Congress MP K Suresh criticizes the government's exam amendment bill and police action on protesters. He questions accountability for NTA failures, while Karti Chidambaram calls the bill 'pointless' and says it won't prevent future paper leaks.

Senior Congress leader and MP K Suresh on Wednesday lashed out at the Union Government over the newly introduced examination amendment bill and the alleged police action on protesting students across the country. Speaking to ANI, the Congress MP stated that opposition parties stand united against the government's handling of central examinations and the National Testing Agency's (NTA) governance. "The entire Opposition mounted a sharp attack on the government in Parliament over the examination amendment bill. We stand firm on our stance regarding how central exams are conducted. The primary concern remains accountability- who takes responsibility for these failures? Key NTA officials who were arrested have secured bail, allowing those responsible to walk free," Suresh said.

The MP emphasised that the government was compelled to introduce the new legislation solely due to mounting pressure from nationwide demonstrations led by youth groups, students, and political parties. Condemning the police crackdowns on student demonstrations, Suresh highlighted instances of excessive force across multiple states. "Student protesters, including women, faced lathi charges, tear gas, and water cannons. Extreme measures, including pellet guns, were deployed against students in Patna. We will continue to raise these issues strongly in Parliament," he added.

Addressing the registration of cases against student protesters in Keralam, Suresh noted that the Chief Minister has instructed authorities to re-examine the matters to protect students' interests.

'Bill is pointless': Karti Chidambaram

Earlier, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram called the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill "pointless" and said it "only increases penalties, prison terms and prescribes time limits for trials and special courts. "Speaking to ANI outside the Parliament, he said, "This bill, if anybody has read it, is pointless. This bill is like closing the stable doors after the horses have bolted... This bill is only increasing penalties, increasing prison terms, and prescribes time limits for trials and special courts. Everybody knows that penalty and punishment don't necessarily deter wrongdoing and crime... The special courts also need a certain infrastructure... What really needs to be done is the reformation of the examination process, which is the NTA... This law is not going to prevent leaks because the preparatory market is worth the lakhs of crores. So they have a vested interest to penetrate the NTA..."

"The expectations of Gen Z have to be understood by boomers and Gen X. We can't have the old style of politics where we delay and have bureaucratic rigmarole. They want results, and they want action. Unless governments and establishments retune themselves in delivering their promises, the patience of Gen Z is not going to be like previous generations," Karti Chidambaram further said.

'Fulfil promise of justice': Samajwadi Party

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq said that the opposition is always ready for the discussion. "The opposition was always ready for the discussion... We hope that the government will now fulfil its promise of justice... We don't have a lot of expectations from the government. The reason for this is that there's a difference between what the government does and what it says... Since those who were jailed haven't been released, and the government is stubbornly insistent on taking action, we protest this and demand that the government fulfil its promises. Otherwise, in the future, the entire nation will lose faith in the BJP government," SP MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq said.

The Minister of State for the PMO Jitendra Singh moved the Amendment Bill to the 2024 Act for discussion in the Lok Sabha, in the backdrop of the widespread protests over the NEET-UG paper leak. (ANI)

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