New Delhi: Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad on Thursday questioned the implementation of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, alleging that the BJP government's intent towards students and youth was "not good" despite the legislation being passed by the Lok Sabha.
Speaking to ANI ahead of the Rajya Sabha's consideration of the Bill, Prasad said the effectiveness of the legislation would depend not on its provisions but on the government's willingness to enforce it.
"Many such laws have been passed and made in the country whose implementation is not happening today. So, a lot depends on intention, will, and a lot depends on whose hands the responsibility of enforcing these laws is, whose hands have the power," Prasad said.
"With regret, I have to say that the intention and will of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is our government, towards the students and youth of our country is not good. If it were, the Honorable Prime Minister had said a long time ago, we will give 2 crore jobs every year. So 10-12 years have passed... jobs remained far away, jobs were taken. So the main thing is that the law has been passed, of course, but there is doubt and suspicion about its implementation," he added.
The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, is likely to be taken up in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, a day after it was passed by the Lok Sabha following a marathon debate marked by sharp exchanges between the Treasury and Opposition benches over paper leaks and the alleged police action against student protesters.
The Bill seeks to strengthen the legal framework against examination-related malpractices by enhancing punishments for offenders. It proposes imprisonment of not less than five years, extendable up to ten years, and raises the maximum fine for individuals from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh.
For organised examination-related crimes, the proposed legislation increases the minimum imprisonment to seven years, extendable up to ten years, while enhancing the maximum fine from Rs 1 crore to Rs 10 crore. It also provides for the constitution of a Special Task Force to investigate paper leak cases, mandates completion of investigations within two months, and provides for Special Fast Track Courts to conclude trials within three months of filing the charge sheet.
Prasad also backed Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's remarks targeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the alleged police action during the July 20 student protests, saying the Home Minister should have been present in the Lok Sabha during the debate.
"When this matter was being discussed yesterday, the Honorable Home Minister should have come, because the Home Department is under him. It would have been clear what kind of situation had arisen that the police had to fire bullets, use tear gas and wield lathis... The whole country wanted to know what kind of situation had arisen when the students were sitting peacefully," Prasad said.
"He did not come... His stand on this matter is correct. The whole country is discussing that the BJP government has resorted to firing bullets, lathi charges and tear gas shells on innocent students, which will be very expensive for the Bharatiya Janata Party," he added.
The discussion on the Bill is expected to begin in the Rajya Sabha at 2 pm and continue for nearly seven hours, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior party leader Mukul Wasnik among the Opposition leaders expected to participate.
This report was published from a wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.