Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha made strong points in Parliament during the debate on the Public Examination (Amendment) Bill, 2026, backing the proposed anti-paper leak law and outlining the Centre’s response to the NEET paper leak controversy.
Describing paper leaks as an organised crime rather than isolated incidents, Chadha said the new legislation would introduce India’s first comprehensive anti-paper leak framework with stricter punishments, fast-track investigations and systemic reforms to protect the integrity of public examinations.
Also read | ‘Govt heard, govt delivered’: Raghav Chadha speaks up ‘in support’ of students in Parliament
In his address on Thursday, Chadha urged students to continue exercising their democratic right to protest while cautioning against the politicisation of student movements. Below is the full text of Raghav Chadha’s speech.
Full text of Chadha’s Parliament speech
“Sir, thank you for giving me an opportunity to speak on this bill. Sir, 22 lakh children work hard for 18 hours every day for a 3-hour exam, but a camera phone, a message on WhatsApp, a PDF on Telegram at 2:00 AM, and the paper is leaked—everything is over. All the student’s hard work is wasted. Therefore, sir, I rise today to speak wholeheartedly in support of the students of India and to welcome the Public Examination Amendment Bill 2026. Sir, a serious disease like a paper leak must be treated permanently. Just as cancer cannot be treated by feeding Crocin, similarly, the problem of paper leaks will be solved not by media sound bites but by institutional solutions, which our government is going to do today through this bill by introducing India’s first-ever anti-paper leak framework. First of all, I would like to say something to the NEET students. Your anger is justified. Your pain is real and the complaint you have with the examination system is also genuine. Your voice matters, and when you expressed your concern, told your pain, when you demanded, the Honorable Prime Minister heard that demand not just as a Prime Minister but also as a guardian, like the head of a family. Students demanded, government acted, historic decisions taken, systems changed”
The Burden on Families “Sir, when a student prepares for a public exam like NEET, he does not prepare alone. His entire family prepares. The mother stops her small needs. Reduces the household budget. The father spends the family’s savings on coaching fees, rent, and test series. Families even have to take loans. And the student himself lives away from home in cities like Kota, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Delhi, Patna. Studies for 18-18 hours a day. Studies until 2:00 AM and then sets an alarm to wake up at 5:00 AM for classes. Away from family, no social life, no festivals, away from social media and friends, and also compromises on his sleep and his health. Because he knows that when he writes the paper, he is not just writing a paper but a better future for his family. And then one day on the date of the exam, he finds out that the paper he had been preparing for for 3 years, someone had already acquired it by paying money. The paper was leaked, and at this time, sir, not only is the paper leaked, but that student’s hard work, his dreams, his self-belief, his trust, his aspirations—all these are leaked, and it affects his mental and physical health”
Government Action and Accountability “I understand that pain, sir, because a few years ago I myself was a student of India’s public examination system, of Chartered Accountancy. And sir, because I have spent enough time in this house critiquing the government, I have earned the right to say my next sentence with full conviction and sincerity: that when it came to our students and the youth of India, the government heard, the government actioned, and the government delivered. Took feedback from students, honored students’ demands, and demonstrated that the government stands with the students. Understanding that concern and pain with which the student placed his demand before the Prime Minister, all actions were taken. All steps were taken, such as short-term and long-term steps”
Specific Reform Measures “Number one: after the paper leak, the re-exam was conducted immediately so that the year was not wasted. Handed over the investigation to the CBI. An SIT was formed—Special Investigation Team—which arrested 13 people including the main kingpin. In just 75 days, two days ago when 75 days of investigation were completed, the chargesheet was also filed in the fast-track court. Did not let the investigation hang for months or years. 47 National Testing Agency officers were shunted out. The Education Secretary was transferred. Even on moral grounds, our Honorable Education Minister resigned, and cases against student protesters were withdrawn. Compensation is being given to bereaved families who lost a child or a student. Exam security protocols are being strengthened. And from next time, this NEET paper will not be from OMR sheets but from fully computer-based testing so that the remotest chance of a paper leak is also eliminated. Along with this, the government has formed a high-power task force that will undertake further reforms on how to preserve and protect the integrity of India’s public examination system, and in this, India’s most acclaimed experts like Nandan Nilekani Sahab have been included in the committee”
Deterrence and Legal Consequences “Along with this, to create deterrence, to create fear in the mind of the criminal, the government has come to the House today with a law after which, if a criminal even thinks of leaking a paper in his dreams, his soul will tremble. First thing, paper leak will be treated not as a crime committed by an individual but as a crime committed by an organized syndicate network, in which action will be taken against everyone—insider, coaching mafia, logistics vendor, printing press, solver gang, exam official. After declaring everyone guilty, there will be jail for up to 10 years and a fine of up to ₹1 crore will be considered. All offenses were made cognizable, non-bailable, and non-compoundable. A special task force was formed so that now if there is even a possibility of a paper leak, this special task force will investigate, and this investigation will not be hung for years. This investigation will have to be completed within 2 months. And along with this, fast-track courts were formed, which will ensure that there is a speedy trial. Day-to-day trial, there will be a special public prosecutor. Punishment will be announced in 3 months. Sir, let me tell you, in our country, fast-track courts are made for heinous crimes, such as crimes against women, rape, and POCSO. Today we have brought paper leaks into the category of those heinous crimes”
Institutional Integrity and Political Accountability “Sir, along with this, institutional and systemic reforms will demonstrate zero tolerance towards paper leaks. And with this, we will be able to preserve and protect the integrity of the Indian public examination system. All this happened because, sir, there is nothing more important than the students and their future. Sir, their voices mattered, their voices were heard, and systematic and systemic changes have been brought. Their voice—the students’ voice—was understood not as a political challenge but as a concern within a family, just as children of the house express their concern, express pain, and place demands to the elders of the house. Exactly like that, the government took action while taking all this feedback”
“Sir, Benjamin Franklin, American philosopher, statesman, diplomat, said, ‘Well done is better than well said.’ For years, paper leaks have been happening in this country, but only discussions and sound bites happened. Today, action is happening. Systemic reforms are coming, and India’s first anti-paper leak framework is ready and before you. Sir, along with this, paper leak is not the gift of any one party, any one government, officer, or ministry. And this is not a 2026 phenomenon either, sir. Let me tell you that, sir, when it comes to accountability, morality, accountability, it should not be decided by which state the paper leak happened in, under which minister, in which party. Because this is a pan-India organized crime, a chronic disease”
Criticism of Other States and Past Eras “I am saying this because on 19th July 2026, just 10 days ago, a Pharmacy Officer recruitment exam was held in Punjab. Massive irregularities were seen in it. Live cheating was going on through Bluetooth devices and the cheating syndicate was charging a rate of 13-13 lakhs to facilitate cheating. Not only this, sir, since the Aam Aadmi Party government was formed in Punjab, irregularities have been seen in the Naib Tehsildar exam and large-scale cheating took place. The 12th class English paper was leaked in the Punjab State Education Board. The PSTET school teacher recruitment exam paper was leaked. The PSSSB officer recruitment exam was leaked. The Agriculture Development Officer recruitment exam was leaked. And when the merit list of the recruitment of Taxation Inspector came, it was issued by putting fake names. Sir, I am coming. Now I am coming to Congress. Just listen to Congress”
“Sir, they are wasting my time. You speak… sir, there is a Congress government in Karnataka. In January 2026 this year, the SSLC paper was held. This year, under the Congress government in Karnataka, the SSLC paper was held. The paper was leaked and that paper was being sold online to students for ₹200. In Himachal Pradesh, the HP State Selection Commission recruitment exam paper was leaked during the Congress tenure. Now listen to the most shocking incident. Sir, the most shocking and sad thing is that in 2016, when there was a Congress government in Karnataka, the 12th-grade Chemistry paper of the Pre-University College was leaked there. This was not a classroom paper, sir. This was a state board exam. When this state exam paper was leaked, children came home after giving the exam and found out the paper was leaked. The exam was cancelled. The re-exam was conducted 20 days later. The re-exam paper was also leaked. And after that, at 3:30 in the night, that paper was circulating on WhatsApp. The re-exam also had to be cancelled. After this, when the investigation happened, the State CID investigated and arrested three people, in which the PA of the Karnataka government’s Medical Education Minister Dr. Sharan Patil himself was involved. The PA was leaking the paper by taking 10-11 lakh rupees. After that, when the minister was asked why he didn’t resign—it was his moral and direct responsibility, his PA in his office was leaking the paper—he said, ‘There is no question of resigning. If something wrong has happened, it is my PA’s personal matter. It is his personal life.’ There, the designation of the office is government, access is government, but when it came to arrest, it’s a matter of personal life. And see the irony, today in 2026, there is again a Congress government in Karnataka and Dr. Sharan Patil is again a minister, and he is the minister of the same department—Medical Education department. This is the standard of accountability, sir”
“Also, between 2004 and 2014, when the UPA government was there, there are dozens of documented examples of paper leaks during the Congress tenure, sir, in which mainly the AIIMS Post Graduate Medical Entrance Exam was leaked in 2006. The Railway Recruitment Board exam of 2009 was leaked. All India Engineering Entrance Exam 2011 was leaked during the UPA tenure and SSC Combined Graduate Level Exam 2013 was leaked. Sir, what did the UPA government of that time do in this period? Established any accountability? Brought any law to overhaul the exam security architecture? Brought any dedicated anti-paper leak law? Brought nothing. Sir, I want to say one thing: political memory can be selective, but public record cannot be selective. If a national exam paper leak is a national crisis—which it is—then sir, how can an opposition-ruled state’s paper leak be a local incident? Sir, there is no difference in students. If the pain of NEET students is genuine—which it is—then sir, the pain of Punjab’s Pharmacy exam students and Karnataka’s SSLC exam students is also genuine. A student’s pain does not change by looking at the party, and in the same way, reform and accountability also cannot change by looking at the party”
Message to Students and Political Parties “Sir, now I want to say something about students. Sir, their voice matters, their demands are legitimate. Sir, protesting by students, asking questions, raising demands, going to court, taking out peaceful marches—all these are their constitutional rights and they should do it. But sir, a student’s protest should remain a student’s protest. It should not become a rally of any political party. They should not outsource their mic to anyone. Because sir, the student’s fight is to make the exam system secure; the leaders’ fight is to increase their social media reach. Sir, when political leaders send students in front of the barricades at the time of protest and themselves stay on the safe side of the camera, ask them: ‘Risk mine and reel yours—what kind of partnership is this, sir?’ Sir, a student’s movement is for the student’s future, not for the comeback of some flop political party, sir. And a political party that does not know its own future, how will it fight for the student’s future, sir?”
“Sir, students want justice; political parties want footage. Students want to secure the exam; political parties want viral clips. The student’s question is about the future; the leader’s calculation is about the next election. Therefore, I want to tell the opposition parties: don’t use students’ emotions for your political promotion. This fight is not BJP versus Congress. This fight is of merit versus mafia, of hard work versus setting. And sir, one more thing. Sir, today there is a lot of study stress on our students. Our society has turned our children’s—because we want the best from our children—expectations related to studies into pressure, and this pressure starts from school itself. When a child is giving the 10th class board exam, it is said, ‘This is a critical year, you have to get good marks, otherwise you won’t get the stream, the whole career will be ruined.’ When he goes to the 12th class, the pressure increases further. It is said, ‘This is the turning point of life, how will the future life be decided?’ The pressure of preparing for various entrance exams like JEE, NEET, CUET is different”
The Culture of Competition “Sir, when he reaches college, there is a different level of pressure. He is told, ‘Keep the CGPA right, otherwise you won’t get placement. This is a question of the whole life, a question of career.’ At every stage, the syllabus of pressure keeps increasing. And overall, sir, competition in India is increasing at a very fast speed, but along with that, comparison is also increasing at a very fast speed. First, when the child goes to school, there is a comparison with his schoolmates and classmates. When he goes to a coaching center, there is a comparison with the students of that coaching center, comparison with the All India Rankers. When he comes home, there is a comparison with the children of neighbors and relatives. This comparison is turning into pressure and stress, not motivation. Sir, as said in the movie 3 Idiots, ‘Be capable, success will follow.’ In the same way, we all in society, if we see any student worried or in stress, should tell him that the exam is important, but you are more important than the exam. Sir, because every student’s home should be the student’s safe space, not the second exam center. And one rank, one result can decide a child’s result, but not his future, value, or his whole life”
Conclusion and Personal Commitment “And finally, sir, I just take one more minute. Sir, in the end, I would also like to say something to my well-wishers who had been telling me for some time, ‘Raghav, when will you speak on the NEET issue? We want to hear you.’ I want to say very humbly, sir: when I used to sit in the opposition, then the question was my weapon; today I sit on the treasury benches, today the solution is my responsibility. I too could have come in front of the camera every day and given a sound bite, but I don’t want a headline, sir, I want an outcome. When I was in the opposition, my job was to raise issues and raise questions, and the whole House and you know I did that job with full honesty. But today my role is not to mark attendance in front of the camera; my focus is to fix the system. Therefore, I made a promise to myself that I would speak on this issue in Parliament and I would speak on the day when we are solving the problem, bringing a solution, when the system is getting fixed. And today is that historic day when the system is getting fixed. And sir, because the reforms we have brought today, which the government has brought to the House, are so necessary because with these reforms the system will be stronger. The paper will be more secure. The exam will be fair. Merit will be respected. The mafia will be in jail. The government will be the watchman. The action will be powerful. Students will win. Mafia will lose. Jai Hind”
