Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced that stricter action will be taken against paper leaks in the Cabinet meeting on Friday. The move comes as the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) continues protests in New Delhi against the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak that affected over 22 lakh students.
What did Prime Minister Modi say?
In a post on X on Thursday evening, Prime Minister Modi said the government has already taken several stringent steps after the paper leak came to light. He added that many people involved in the case were arrested and sent to prison.
He added that the government quickly conducted a re-examination for 22,000 students and announced the results recently. He also said that a bill proposing fast-track courts and tougher penalties for those involved in paper leaks is likely to be introduced in Parliament soon.
“Since the paper leak incident, many big steps have been taken in the last two-and-a-half months. The culprits have been arrested. They are in jail. Our most important responsibility was not to waste a year of students. It was extremely necessary to conduct the exams immediately,” PM Modi said.
“The government, using its full power, arranged exams for as many as 22,000 students in the shortest possible time. Only five or six days ago, on the 19th, the results also came out, and news of the happiness of the students who passed comes from all over the country.”
He added: “But we are not among those who are satisfied with that, so I gave instructions to the departments today with a fast-track court. Today the departments worked continuously and gave me a draft late at night as well. This draft, with the fast-track court rulings and strict penalties, will be discussed in the Council of Ministers tomorrow. After suggestions from colleagues in the government, it will be given its final form, and as of Monday, the second week of Parliament begins, during which efforts will be made to pass the draft law in the Council as quickly as possible.”
What are the protesters demanding?
The CJP has demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET papers leak issue. The CJP accused the government of failing to ensure accountability after the leak affected about 22,000 students.
The CJP called for nationwide peaceful protests on July 24 and urged people to hold demonstrations in every district. It also rejected the government’s offer for talks, saying Prime Minister Modi’s announcement did not address its demand for accountability.
The government renewed its offer to hold discussions, with Union Minister Jitendra Singh suggesting a meeting at the residence or office of Health Minister JP Nadda.
Neda also invited the leaders of the Justice and Development Party to hold talks, but they rejected the proposal, insisting that the meeting should be held in a neutral location.
