Union Minister Jitendra Singh pointed out that incidents of paper leak had taken place in various states ruled by different parties
28 July, 2026 – New Delhi : After a week of impasse, the Lok Sabha today began a discussion on the anti-paper leak Bill, with Union Minister Jitendra Singh starting the debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill 2026 by calling it first of its kind in the history of independent India.
Stating that the amendments were being made to the 2024 Act, he pointed out that incidents of paper leak had taken place in various states ruled by different parties.
“This Bill, which was introduced yesterday, is, in fact, an amendment to the earlier bill — Public Examinations Prevention of Unfair Means Act, 2024 — which was also brought by this government. And not only brought, it was perhaps the first of its kind in the history of independent India. The earlier Bill and the amendment today are, in a way, reaffirmation of this government’s deep commitment to safeguarding the welfare of the students and the youth of this country. Therefore, this Bill can be described, in a way, as a milestone legislation in the history of Indian Parliament,” he said.
The Union Minister said that paper leaks were not limited to one state. He cited 2009 Railway Recruitment Board, 2010 B.Ed entrance examination in Uttar Pradesh, 2011 AIIMS test, 2013 Maharashtra Secondary Certificate Examination as some of the paper leaks.
He recalled that the National Testing Agency was constituted in 2017. “In 1992, it was recommended to the Congress government that there should be a common testing agency and a similar recommendation was made under the UPA government,” Singh said.
He said before this, there was no comprehensive law to deal with such cases.
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said that 21 children had lost their lives. “They died by suicide. The minister under whose watch 21 children lost their lives, when he resigned from his post and returned to the House yesterday, you garlanded him as if he had returned from a war against Pakistan.”
Gogoi said that the Prime Minister appeared in Instagram reels. “In the first Cabinet meeting, instead of having a comprehensive discussion on how to improve education and finish the mafias — paper-setting mafia, paper-solving mafia, testing centre mafia, coaching centre mafia — and irregularities in the CBSE on-screen marking, Prime Minister Modi wanted to focus more on Instagram. Modi talks about a high-powered committee; what happened to the recommendations by the K Radhakrishnan committee,” he said.
Gogoi pointedly asked if the sanctioned capacity of NTA was 34, who were the 47 persons sacked from the testing agency.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav questioned if the Bill was brought in 2024, why the paper leak happened in 2026. “This was the first protest where parents also joined their children. This was not limited to Delhi,” he said.
Anti-paperLeak Bill
Yadav criticised the government for outsourcing staff.
The Tribune