THE OPPOSITION on Tuesday attacked the government over paper leaks and the crackdown on students’ protest in the Capital last week, with Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi saying that students were compelled to take to the streets as the Centre “is not serious about education”.Initiating the debate in the Lok Sabha on the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, Gogoi said despite an existing law, question paper leaks of public examinations have continued, and the law has proved to be a failure.The Congress leader said merely enhancing punishment and penalties will not curb paper leaks unless the education system is comprehensively changed. He said the proposed amendments are only a “cosmetic exercise” and reflect the government’s “failure” to bring genuine reforms in the education sector. “This government is not serious about education. It does not want to bring real reforms. This is merely a showpiece amendment,” he said.Gogoi also criticised the government for the use of pellet guns and electric batons against the protesters and the conduct of police with women participating in the agitation.Thanking the youth of the country, Gogoi said: “I salute the youth of India. They reminded us what democracy truly means. They reminded us that asking questions is the fundamental right of every citizen.”Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who spoke late on Tuesday night, said the National Testing Agency has conducted hundreds of examinations for crores of students. “But in the 14 major examinations conducted by the NTA, six have had allegations of paper leaks and other discrepancies and 15 examinations have been postponed by the NTA in the last seven years. Why is this sorry record there? The NTA has only 39 permanent posts and 15 of these posts are lying vacant, so just 24 people on permanent posts are responsible for examinations that can determine the future of crores of young Indians. There is something fundamentally wrong about this arrangement,” said Tharoor.Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav said the government was forced to bend before youth power and make Dharmendra Pradhan resign from the Education Ministry. “When the government gets rattled, it accepts… the government bowed down and accepted the demands,” he said.Story continues below this adOn Pradhan’s exit, he said: “Pradhan ji ko hataa kar Pradhan Mantri ko bachaa liya apne (By removing Pradhan, you saved the Prime Minister),” Akhilesh said.The SP chief said the crackdown on the youth during the recent protests was no less than what happened during the Emergency. He said batons were used even then, but this time “current” was also given to students.He made the statement when Union Minister Kiren Rijiju sought to know whether he would support a government that brought a Bill to respond to students’ demands or those who imposed the Emergency. Akhilesh said just like there was a regime change after the Emergency, there would be regime change now too.He said even God would not save the government, as its people were involved in the “maha paap (grave sin) of chadhaava chori (theft of Ram Temple donations)”.Story continues below this adSamajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav accused the government of “ripping” the youth of their dignity and sacrificing the principles of Mahatma Gandhi by using force on students peacefully protesting against the NEET paper leak.TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee said the amendment Bill on paper leaks will not wash away the 12 years of “incompetence and failure” of the Central government.Despite being critical of the government on the issue, Banerjee extended his party’s support to the proposed legislation. “It cannot erase the humiliation faced by lakhs of young Indians. It cannot erase images of students who came seeking justice and were met with barricades and pellet guns instead of love and compassion,” he said.The TMC MP said his party’s support for the Bill cannot be a substitute for accountability. “A stringent law is necessary but by itself is not sufficient. If the examinations continue to be compromised by ‘systematic’ failures, no amendment, however stringent, will restore the faith that millions of students have lost,” said Banerjee.Story continues below this adAIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi asked if changing the law, making a reel, or just resigning would bring back the lives of those students who lost their lives because of paper leak. He suggested that the government create an AI-based question bank, containing one lakh questions. “There should be no human interface in this,” he said.NCP(SP) MP Supriya Sule said BJP leaders should have spoken with some empathy, compassion, and sensitivity.She demanded that the government call an all-party meeting and also form a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to examine the issue of paper leaks. “We (opposition parties) are not your enemy,” she said. Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More Tags:Gaurav Gogoi