New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Hema Malini on Monday defended the administration's track record on education and criticised the strategy of street agitation. She urged the demonstrating youth to choose structured discussions over disruptive protests.

Speaking to the reporters, she said, "If there is a problem, it should be discussed properly. Protesting in this manner won't achieve anything. As for the country's youth and the education system, our Modi government has always stood by them and done a great deal of work; given that, the protests you are staging now make no sense at all. All I would say is that this matter should be resolved through dialogue."

This comes after the opening day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament was marked by intense political sparring over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak controversy, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) urging for dialogue while the Opposition declared a complete collapse of student trust in national institutions.

The ruling party's appeal for calm was met with fierce resistance from the Opposition benches. Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda targeted the leadership directly, accusing Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan of failing to provide transparent answers as institutional fraud continues to impact millions of competitive exam aspirants.
"The Congress party has been raising this issue from the very beginning. Today, the youth and students of the country have lost faith in the education and examination systems. Massive paper-leak mafias are flourishing, yet those who ought to be held accountable--such as Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan--are unable to provide a satisfactory response," he said.

Meanwhile, the demonstration, which began at Jantar Mantar, caused significant traffic disruptions as security personnel were deployed in large numbers to contain the crowd. Meanwhile, the police resorted to a mild lathi charge.

According to a police advisory, protest marches, processions, demonstrations, and assemblies of five or more persons are prohibited, except at the designated protest site at Jantar Mantar with prior permission. Security has been heightened near the premises in view of the Monsoon Session, which began today.

This report was published from a wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.