SP MP Dimple Yadav raised the issue of lathicharge on NEET students in the Lok Sabha. Calling it ‘barbaric’, he sought answers from Home Minister Amit Shah and said the government has failed to scare the students.
New Delhi [भारत]July 28 (ANI): Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav on Tuesday demanded in the Lok Sabha that Union Home Minister Amit Shah personally respond to what she termed the “barbaric” police action on students who gathered peacefully in the national capital to protest against the NEET-UG paper leak and demand the resignation of the Education Minister.
Participating in the discussion on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, Yadav questioned Shah over the violence inflicted on the protesting students. She said, “I would like the Home Minister to come and answer why such violence was carried out in Delhi against children who had come with non-violence.”
Answer sought from Amit Shah
He claimed that the students faced violent police action. He alleged, “We were also part of the protest because the children of our country were sitting there… but the brutality that was seen on the road cannot be described. You trapped the children by putting barricades every 100 metres, and then you lathi-charged the children, hit them on the head and the girls’ clothes were torn. You used pellet guns, and AK-47s were used in Bihar.”
She said, “The students’ movement was peaceful. SP also took part in the movement… 37 students were on fast. We were also there, I also went on July 18 and met Sonam Wangchuk who was on fast.”
‘Students are not afraid of an arrogant government’
Lauding the courage shown by the students during the protests, he said, “Today, we salute and appreciate our youth and students who were not afraid of this administration and fought this arrogant government.”
Questioning the state of Indian democracy itself, he said, “There is democracy in this country, but is there freedom? On July 20, students from all the states came because they wanted to show unity and put forward their issue and demand the resignation of the Education Minister. But what was the government’s attitude towards them?”
He said that the courage shown by the protesters and the police action against them will not be forgotten. He said, “Children fearlessly faced this government. The way you attacked the youth… no one is going to forget it.” He further said that despite the action, the government failed to scare the students. She said, “They felt humiliated, I could feel their pain, I was there…”
He said, “The members here are moving here and there in fear because the government wants to pass the delimitation bill, but you could not put pressure on the children. We are proud that they did not give in, they fought and won.”
compared to emergency
Hitting out at the Center over its repeated references to the 1975 Emergency, Yadav argued that the real similarity lies in the government’s own conduct during the protests. He said, “They talk about Emergency; it was imposed 50 years ago. If you wanted to see the Emergency, you should have come to the streets and seen what the real Emergency is. When children were drenched in blood and sweat, you were sitting safely here in Parliament.”
Questions raised on anti-paper leak law
Yadav also raised questions on the effectiveness of the government’s existing anti-paper-leak law. He pointed to the cancellation of NEET-UG earlier this year, while the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill was already in force. He said, “NEET-UG was conducted on May 3, and it was canceled on May 12, but the question is: If this bill was passed in 2024, why did the leakage happen? These leakages after 2024, is it a conspiracy by the government? Either it is a conspiracy or there is a permanent leakage in the government system.”
Yadav’s comments come after weeks of student protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar over the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak, which culminated in the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as Union Education Minister. The protests, which were attended by a large number of students, escalated after police used force to disperse the crowd, including lathicharge, pellet guns against protesters and allegations that AK-47s were deployed against protesters in Bihar.
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh introduced the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha on July 27. The amendment bill aims to further strengthen the provisions of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, including speedy investigation, speedy trials through special fast track courts, appointment of special public prosecutors, time-bound disposal of appeals and more stringent penal provisions to effectively prevent unfair means and organized malpractices in public examinations. (ANI)
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