Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday criticised The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, describing it as "a band-aid when you need surgery" and arguing that the legislation fails to tackle the root causes of examination irregularities.
Speaking after the Lok Sabha passed the Bill, Gandhi said that although it prescribes stricter punishment for paper leaks, it was "not worth discussing" because no one had been convicted under the existing law.
The Congress leader also renewed his criticism of Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the alleged police action against students protesting in Delhi.
Gandhi said there were "only two possibilities."
"Home Minister Amit Shah gave the order to use pellet guns, beat people with lathis, and use electric batons," he alleged.
"The second possibility is that Amit Shah did not know what was happening. If that is the case, it is incompetence. In either case, he needs to go," Gandhi said.
Claims he was denied the opportunity to speak
Rahul Gandhi alleged that he was repeatedly prevented from speaking in the Lok Sabha, while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju were allowed to speak multiple times.
"As you saw today, the LoP was not allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha. Others from the government were allowed to speak, but I was not allowed to speak," Gandhi said.
He claimed he was told that his remarks about Amit Shah were the reason he was stopped.
"I was also given an assurance that if I apologised, I would be allowed to continue speaking. The first thing is that I will never, ever apologise to the BJP, the RSS, or anyone associated with them. The second thing is that it is my right as the LoP to raise issues that are important to our country," he said.
Alleges excessive police action
Gandhi said the alleged treatment of students protesting in Delhi was the country's most pressing issue.
"To me, the most important issue today is that our students were brutalised on the streets of Delhi," he said.
He alleged that protesters "were shot with pellet guns" and claimed that police used "shock batons" and "lathis with nails" during the crackdown.
He also alleged that facial recognition technology was being used to identify protesters and claimed that members of the Bajrang Dal were being mobilised to intimidate students and discourage them from protesting again.
"Amit Shah is scared"
Rahul Gandhi further claimed that he saw Union Minister Jitendra Singh receiving calls from Amit Shah during the developments and alleged that the Home Minister was also in contact with senior police officials.
He went on to claim that Amit Shah stayed away from the Lok Sabha because he was "afraid."
"Amit Shah is not coming to the Lok Sabha. He is scared. That's why he isn't coming. He is guilty," Gandhi alleged.
The Congress leader also expressed concern over the FIRs registered in connection with the protests and said he wanted to highlight the cases being pursued against the protesters.
