Opposition may finalise paper leak bill stand on Monday amid CJP protest

Leaders from various parties said on Friday that their protests over student issues take precedence over allowing the passage of the bill.

The Centre’s plan to enact stringent legislation against examination paper leaks faces an Opposition blockade in Parliament unless the government accepts its demand to dismiss education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, leaders of several parties told HT on Friday.

Opposition parties have called a meeting on Monday to take a final decision on the proposed law. (File Photo/ANI)

Opposition parties have called a meeting on Monday to take a final decision on the proposed law. Leaders from various parties said on Friday that their protests over student issues take precedence over allowing the passage of the bill, which they argued would give the government an upper hand.

Follow live updates on CJP protest here.

Addressing the Prime Minister’s video message on Thursday announcing the bill, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Before coming to Parliament today, come after dismissing Dharmendra Pradhan. First, apologise to the students and take strict action against those who ordered the use of lathis, batons, and pellet guns to suppress the students’ voices. Then we are ready for a detailed discussion on the education system.”

Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi said outside Parliament, “I would like to say clearly the stance of Opposition - the students have three demands: (1) Corrupt education minister has to go, (2) Action against those who attacked students and beat them up, (3) PM should apologise to the students. These are the three conditions. We are not going to have any conversation, any discussion before Pradhan is sacked. That’s it.”

All India Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O’Brien said, “It is now way beyond just dropping a minister. The Prime Minister and the home minister are accountable. The Opposition is completely dismissive of such stunts like the bill.”

Communist Party of India (Marxist) lawmaker John Brittas said, “We have no problem with any legislation to strengthen the exam system. But action should precede legislation. Dharmendra Pradhan must resign before the discussion starts on the bill.”

Some Opposition leaders, however, maintained that while Pradhan’s resignation remains a non-negotiable condition, stalling measures to tighten laws against paper leaks carries political risks.

A former home minister rejected one of the proposed provisions — setting up fast-track courts — stating, “Setting up Fast Track Special Courts is not the whole answer to the grave problem of ‘leaks’ in competitive examinations and putting lakhs of students in peril. There are 775 FTSCs in India for trying various offences. According to the Ministry of Law, over 2,45,000 cases are pending in FTSCs. An FTSC is not a court building. It requires judges, court staff, prosecutors, procedural compliances, investigators, bailiffs, witnesses, and additional financial resources.”

A senior Congress leader said, “What are we going to discuss on the bill? The larger issues related to students and our demand for a debate on NEET paper scams would invariably be covered in the debate. The government wants to kill two birds with one stone. We would not allow that.”

“Rahul Gandhi has hit the roads to demand the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is joining the protests. Under these circumstances, there is no scope of a compromise with the government,” a senior Rajya Sabha leader said.

“We are preparing to present the bill, but after you receive the briefing on our cabinet decision, we will inform you about our timing. The Prime Minister has said that there should be no delay in the bill we are bringing regarding students. The country also wants what the PM has said, so it would not be right to resort to any tactics to obstruct it...” Kiren Rijiju said.