New Delhi: Coming down heavily on the Modi government’s handling of the student protests, Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav Tuesday equated it with the Emergency after the last week’s turn of events in the national capital.
“I did not witness the Emergency firsthand, but we have seen echoes of what happened then right here in the national capital,” Akhilesh said, participating in the debate in Lok Sabha on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026.
The Delhi Police has faced severe criticism for using excessive force to disperse thousands of student demonstrators during the Sansad Chalo march organised 20 July by the Cockroach Janta Party near Parliament.
“The issue is not the law; your intentions are not honest. The moment your intentions become honest, the examination process will also become clean,” he said.
The remark came in response to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju’s question to the Opposition. “Which is better, a situation where the government listens to a student protest and introduces a Bill in Parliament, or one where the government imposes a nationwide Emergency to crush the protest?” Rijiju asked.
The Bill, which amends the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, was taken up for consideration after a six-day logjam in the Monsoon Session.
He also took a jab at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the alleged donation theft in Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. “Those who could not stop theft from Ram Mandir, how can they stop paper leaks?”
Akhilesh linked the government to the alleged theft of donations, which is under a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe.
“The people who allowed the Ram Mandir donation theft to happen are also allowing the papers to leak.” He said even the ‘gupt daan‘ (secret donation) had gone missing while placing the matter in the category of ‘mahapaap‘ (grave sin).
The government, he said, did not stand by its word. “The BJP government doesn’t give assurances, only jumlas (empty promises),” he said, adding that the agitation drew in parents and families across age groups, and estimated that around 20 lakh candidates and their households were affected, putting the number turned against the government at close to a crore.
The Kannauj MP also drew a parallel with the farmers’ protest, saying the government had withdrawn “the three black laws” when it sensed an election, and that a government bows when it is made to.
He said the removal of Dharmendra Pradhan as education minister was done to shield the Prime Minister.
The SP MP listed examinations leaked in Uttar Pradesh during the BJP’s tenure, among them sub-inspector, junior engineer, lekhpal and constable recruitment, the UP-TET on three occasions, and high school and intermediate board papers.
“Leaks reached the state from which the Prime Minister is elected.” He also questioned why the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts major examinations including the Joint Entrance Examination JEE (Main) and National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG)., had been staffed through outsourcing.
Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee said that while his party supports the Bill, it does not in any way mean an endorsement of how the Modi government has gone about reforming the examination system.
He asked why Parliament was being made to legislate again two years after the parent Act. “If you promise secure examinations in 2024, why are we debating another emergency amendment in 2026?”
The Trinamool, he said, supported the Bill but would not treat it as a certificate of innocence. “This Bill is not a solution, rather this Bill is an admission.”
Abhishek said the government followed a fixed method: “Whenever governance fails, they change the law. Whenever administration collapses, they increase punishment. Whenever institutions fail, they announce another committee.”
The Trinamool Congress MP, speaking in Parliament for the first time after his party lost the West Bengal elections in June, listed exam-related cases over 12 years, from CBSE and AIPMT papers to NEET-UG 2024 and UGC-NET.
At least 17 exam-fraud investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and 11 proceedings by the Enforcement Directorate had produced no conviction, he asserted.
The government had told Parliament it did not maintain data on paper leaks, he said. “The government knows how many toilets it has built… but it does not know how many examination papers were leaked.”
Military logistics and aircraft were used to move question papers, he said, referring to the NEET-UG re-examination question papers.
“The youth of India did not ask for helicopters, they asked for honesty,” he said, adding that students were met with barricades, lathi charge, pellets and tear gas.
Pointing to the first hearing of the fast-track court in the NEET paper-leak case, he said that it was adjourned because no one appeared for the CBI until 10.45 a.m. to oppose a bail plea. “On television, they promise fast track justice. Inside the courtroom, they cannot even ensure the presence of their own lawyer.”
(Edited by Tony Rai)