THE BJP-LED NDA government on Tuesday threw its weight behind the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, terming it a “visionary step towards safeguarding the future of India’s youth”.BJP’s New Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj said the proposed amendments would strengthen transparency, fairness and reliability of competitive exams by delivering “a strong blow to paper leak mafia and further strengthening the trust of millions of aspirants”.“I myself am a lawyer; we were always taught a legal maxim – that justice delayed is justice denied. This has become the spirit of this amendment…along with adding speed to it, this amendment also makes punishment tougher. An ordinary criminal will have to pay a fine of Rs 50 lakh instead of Rs 10 lakh and the punishment has been increased from three to five years to five to 10 years,” she said.“This amendment protects merit, preserves fairness and safeguards the dreams of India’s youth…It is a product of responsive governance by the responsible (Narendra) Modi government,” she said.The BJP MP accused the Opposition of displaying “selective outrage” over examination paper leaks, saying such incidents also happened during the Congress-led UPA regime.Shiv Sena (Shinde) MP Shrikant Shinde, while paying tribute to the 21 students who died by suicide, said the Bill was a “pakka ilaj (foolproof remedy)” for paper leaks which had a devastating impact not just on students but also their families.BJP MP Tejasvi Surya said the nation’s students did not want politics over paper leaks, but sought a system that protected their future.Story continues below this ad“The student who is preparing for the next examination is more concerned about who is going to fix the system for the future and knows that this government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to fix the system once and for all for the better for his future,” he said.Attacking the Congress over alleged paper leaks in Karnataka where the party is in power, Surya said justice was not a one-way street.“Today there are two kinds of political models in the country. One is the Modi model: hope and reform; the other is the model of the Opposition, which is cynicism and anarchism…governance, nation-building is an exercise in continuum. It is not as if everything in the country is well and good. Changing this for the better is the responsibility of the nation’s youth and that is why they are with Modi ji,” he said.Surya said whenever there is a crisis, PM Modi has “converted it into an opportunity for reform”.Story continues below this adBJP MP Anurag Thakur said the proposed amendment was aimed at further strengthening the system and ensuring that no one was able to play with the future of the nation’s youth. “The youth knows that when there was a NEET exam leak on May 3…our government cancelled it (the paper) on May 12 and in just three days…decided to conduct a re-examination so that one year of the youth is not wasted,” he said.He said the Modi government would find a permanent solution to paper leaks, just as it had addressed challenges such as terrorism and Maoism. Jatin Anand is an Assistant Editor with the national political bureau of The Indian Express. With over 16 years of experience in mainstream journalism, he is a seasoned expert in national governance, electoral politics, and bureaucratic affairs. Having covered high-stakes beats including the Election Commission of India (ECI), intelligence, and urban development, Jatin provides authoritative analysis of the forces shaping Indian democracy. He is an alumnus of Zakir Husain Delhi College (DU) and the prestigious Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai, where he specialized in Print Journalism. Expertise High-Stakes Beat Coverage: Throughout his decade-and-a-half career, Jatin has covered some of the most sensitive and influential beats in the country, including: The Election Commission of India (ECI): Monitoring electoral policy, reforms, and the conduct of national and state polls. National Security & Intelligence: Reporting on the internal mechanisms and developments within India's security apparatus. Urban Development: Analyzing the policies and bureaucratic processes driving the transformation of India’s cities. National Political Bureau: In his current role, he tracks the intersection of policy and politics, offering deep-dive reporting on the Union government and national political movements. Academic Credentials: Zakir Husain Delhi College (DU): Alumnus of one of Delhi's premier institutions. Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai: Specialized in Print Journalism at India's most prestigious journalism school. ... Read More