BJP MP Anurag Thakur slammed Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav in the Lok Sabha during the debate on the Public Examinations Bill, accusing them of politics. He mocked Rahul's 'agony' over not being PM and recalled Akhilesh's old remarks on cheating.
Thakur Slams Opposition Leaders
BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Tuesday took a swipe at Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav during the Lok Sabha debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, accusing the Opposition leaders of indulging in politics instead of supporting measures to strengthen the examination system.
Thakur said he understood Rahul Gandhi's "agony and restlessness" over not getting an opportunity to enter the Prime Minister's residence, referring to the Congress leader's protest outside the residence.
Participating in the debate, Thakur said the government was bringing reforms to make the examination system more robust, prevent paper leaks and ensure time-bound justice against those involved in unfair practices.
"Venugopal was saying, then Priyanka said why are you going to make changes in the law, we want to make the system more foolproof, no one should play with the future of our youth, we want to create a system so that delays do not happen, and we are building this system to make the judicial system work in a time-bound manner, but you (opposition) were not ready to discuss it on time and were not letting the House run," Thakur said.
Jibe at Rahul Gandhi
Targeting Rahul Gandhi over his protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence, Thakur said, "Rahul Gandhi felt that neither the youth of the country asked him, nor Akhilesh, nor any political party, so what should he do? So he did what no leader of the opposition should do--he went and lay down outside the Prime Minister's residence."
"Look, Rahul ji, I can understand your agony and restlessness that you are not getting the chance to go inside the Prime Minister's residence, but you took the opportunity to fight outside itself," he added.
Aim at Akhilesh Yadav
Taking aim at Akhilesh Yadav and the Samajwadi Party over their past stand on anti-cheating measures, Thakur recalled the anti-copying law introduced during the Kalyan Singh government in Uttar Pradesh. "There was also Kalyan Singh's government in the state, Rajnath Singh was the Education Minister at that time in Uttar Pradesh. Rajnath Singh did wonderful work in education, we brought the anti-cheating law, but I want to ask Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam ji--when Mulayam ji was there, what speeches did he give? Just listen to Akhilesh Yadav's speech; he used to say that we all must have cheated, a little bit of cheating goes, if everyone does a little bit then what will happen, when we come to power then what will happen--we will let all those who do cheating go, vote for SP," he said.
Taking a further dig at Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, Thakur said, "I would only like to say: 'Khud miya fazihat, dusron ko nasihat' (making a fool of oneself while advising others)."
Government Initiatives and Bill Improvements
Thakur also credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiatives, including Pariksha Pe Charcha, E-Pathshala and the National Education Policy, saying the government had continuously engaged with students and strengthened laws to tackle examination-related irregularities. "I am grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who open-mindedly listened to the concerns of the youth and took appropriate steps to make comprehensive improvements in the bill that was brought in 2024; I express my gratitude to him for this. From 2014 to 2026, over a long period of time, Prime Minister Modi has continuously interacted with the youth directly, whether it is talking about 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' with the youth of the country, talking about 'E-Pathshala', or talking about the new National Education Policy for the youth," he said.
'Paper Leaks No Less Than Terrorism'
Calling paper leaks a serious threat to students' future, Thakur compared the issue with terrorism and Maoism, saying the government was determined to eliminate the menace. "The question arises that why are we discussing this matter today? Because rigging in examinations and paper leaks are no less than terrorism and Maoism, because our youth fall victim to it. And to the youth of our country, I want to say that we will provide a complete cure for this disease of paper leaks, because the remedy for every ailment has been found under the Modi government, and we are going to eradicate this as well. For decades, terrorism and naxalism inflicted a lot of cruelty upon us, and the Modi government is the one that relieved us from these deep wounds. We are the ones who uprooted terrorism and naxalism, and we will uproot paper leaks as well," Thakur said.
'Milestone Legislation' to Curb Unfair Means
Earlier, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh moved the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, for discussion in the Lok Sabha against the backdrop of widespread protests over the NEET-UG paper leak. He affirmed the government's commitment to the welfare of students and described the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, as a "milestone legislation."
The Union Minister said, "This bill, which was introduced yesterday, is, in fact, an amendment to the earlier Bill--Public Examinations Prevention of Unfair Means Act 2024, which was also brought by this government. And not only was it brought, but it was also perhaps the first of its kind in the history of independent India. The earlier Bill and the amendment today are, in a way, a reaffirmation of this government's deep commitment to safeguard the welfare of the students and the youth of this country."
"At the same time, it is also a reiteration of Prime Minister Modi's resolve--not to allow anyone to compromise with the future of the children of Mother India. Therefore, this bill can be described, in a way, as a milestone legislation in the history of the Indian Parliament," he added.
Enhanced Penalties and Speedy Justice
Describing the provisions of the Bill, he noted that the amendment aims to "make the law more stringent and to ensure speedy justice so that the credibility of all these exams gets enhanced and gets reinstated."
The Bill, he said, proposes to enhance the punishment for persons resorting to unfair means by increasing the term of imprisonment to not less than five years, extendable up to ten years, as against the existing provision of imprisonment for a term of not less than three years, extendable up to five years. The maximum fine is also proposed to be enhanced from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh. For service providers found involved in offences, the Bill proposes to increase the maximum fine to Rs 5 crore and extend the period of debarment from conducting any public examination from four years to eight years. For organised examination-related crimes, the Amendment Bill proposes to increase the minimum term of imprisonment from five years to seven years, extendable up to ten years, while enhancing the maximum fine from Rs 1 crore to Rs 10 crore.
The Bill also empowers the Centre to constitute a Special Task Force for probing the paper leak and examination-related offences and proposes a new Section 12A providing for completion of investigation within two months, designation of Courts of Session as Special Fast Track Courts for day-to-day trial of offences under the Act, completion of trial within three months from the date of filing of the charge sheet, and appointment of Special Public Prosecutors for every Special Fast Track Court.
"The most important thing which the Prime Minister also mentioned through the video is to ensure speedy justice. We will have special fast-track courts established only for the cases dealing with unfair means in examinations. We have set a time limit in that also. The investigation has to be completed within a span of two months regardless of whether it is a central agency or a special task force," he told the Lower House.
Further, Jitendra Singh also recalled the paper leaks under the Congress-led UPA governments. Amid an attack on the National Testing Agency (NTA) over the paper leaks, he said that the Congress government had recommended establishing a common national testing agency and the NTA was eventually formed in 2017.
Lok Sabha took up the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill for discussion at 2 pm today. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the leaders of various parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, DMK, and NCP, had agreed to extend the scheduled six-hour discussion by two hours. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
