Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, on Thursday demanded the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the police action against students protesting against paper leaks.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 202 amid repeated interruptions and sloganeering by the ruling camp, Kharge questioned the use of force against students and sought accountability for the police action.
“Who authorised the use of lathi charges, tear gas, and pellet guns on students? Who were the people in plainclothes beating up students? Under whose orders do the RAF and CRPF operate? Who was the supreme mastermind behind this entire sequence of events? The country wants answers to these questions; if the Home Minister cannot answer them, he should resign,” Kharge said.
He further demanded that if Amit Shah did not resign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should remove him from office.
“If Amit Shah does not resign, the Prime Minister should remove him from office. This government wants to protect Home Minister Amit Shah, but it will not be able to protect him for long,” he added.
Alleging excessive use of force against students protesting in Delhi, the Congress leader claimed that over 100 students were injured and several were hospitalised.
“More than 100 students were injured in the Delhi protest. Many students are admitted to hospitals in critical condition. Many children have suffered pellet gun injuries on their bodies and eyes. Several students are hospitalised; some have lost their eyesight, while many have suffered broken limbs. Home Minister Amit Shah is responsible for this,” Kharge alleged.
During his speech, heavy sloganeering erupted in the Rajya Sabha, with Opposition MPs demanding action against Union Minister Giriraj Singh and seeking an apology over his remarks alleging foreign funding during student protests against paper leaks.
Criticising the proposed legislation, Kharge said the amendments merely enhanced penalties and created new enforcement mechanisms without addressing the root causes of recurring paper leaks.
“The Bill that has come to the House for discussion only has modified numbers. Higher penalties, strict punishment, Special Task Force. This is not going to make any difference. The question is how to strengthen the examination system so that paper leaks do not happen,” he said.
Kharge further claimed that the Opposition had suggested similar reforms in 2024, but the government ignored them.
“What the government is doing today, we had suggested back in 2024, but at that time the government did not listen to us. Back then, the Lok Sabha elections were approaching, and the government wanted to play politics, while Rahul Gandhi was raising questions about paper leaks during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. That means the government brought that law in such a hurry that amendments have to be made to it within two years,” he said.
The Congress president also accused the Centre of weakening academic freedom and promoting ideological appointments in higher educational institutions.
“The academic freedom of our country’s educational institutions is continuously weakening. Universities are not just places to hand out degrees. They are centres of new ideas, scientific temper, research, health, and debate,” he said.
Alleging ideological interference in universities, Kharge said educational institutions were being filled with people affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
“University campuses are not meant for any narrow ideology, blind superstition, or the imposition of a single ideology, but under the Modi government, educational institutions are being filled with RSS affiliates. The position of Vice-Chancellor in the country’s universities is being given exclusively to people associated with the RSS,” he alleged.
The Bill proposing enhanced punishment for paper leaks, Fast Track Courts and a Special Task Force to probe the examination-related offences was passed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.