Opposition Mounts Fierce Attack During Anti-Paper Leak Bill Debate The anti-paper leak Bill debate in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday turned into a full-scale offensive by the Opposition, with leaders from the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress and DMK accusing the Narendra Modi government of failing India's students, mishandling the NEET crisis and responding to peaceful protests with force instead of accountability. The debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 came after nearly a week of disruptions in Parliament over the NEET paper leak controversy and days after former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned following sustained student protests. Leading the Opposition's charge, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the government had ignored the real concerns of students while focusing on optics. Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent social media outreach to young people, she remarked: "If you want to win back the confidence of Gen Z, making videos from different camera angles will not work. Camera nahi, dil ka angle badaliye." She said students had only sought accountability, reforms to stop repeated paper leaks and action against those responsible, but were instead met with police action. Questioning the government's handling of the protests, Priyanka Gandhi asked, "Why was it necessary to fire tear gas shells at students, to rain lathis on them? Why was it necessary to humiliate young girls by tearing their clothes, to have them beaten mercilessly? Why was it necessary to fire pellet guns and AK-47s at the country's youth? Are they terrorists?" She said every baton charge on protesting students had hurt the government's credibility more than the students themselves and demanded to know who authorised the alleged use of force. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also attacked the Centre over the appointment of Union Minister Pralhad Joshi as the new Education Minister, invoking his past remarks on the remission granted to the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case. Later, the remarks were expunged from the parliamentary records. Her remarks triggered immediate protests from the Treasury benches. Objecting to the statement, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju accused the Congress leader of making an unsubstantiated personal allegation inside Parliament. Congress deputy leader Gaurav Gogoi questioned the need for another amendment, arguing that the 2024 anti-paper leak law had failed to prevent fresh examination leaks. He said paper leaks had continued despite the legislation, proving that simply increasing punishments would not solve the problem. Gogoi also criticised the alleged use of pellet guns and electric batons against protesting students and questioned the treatment of women during the demonstrations. He argued that unless the government undertook structural reforms in the education system, harsher penalties alone would not restore students' confidence. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav claimed the Centre was forced to bow before students' protests after weeks of public pressure. "The government must be relieved that they saved their Prime Minister by removing Pradhan," he said, referring to Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation. Calling the NEET agitation unprecedented, Yadav said it was the first student movement that received widespread support from parents across the country.