New Delhi : Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju appealed to the Opposition on Thursday not to disrupt the Monsoon Session of Parliament, stating that the government is ready for a detailed discussion on NEET examination paper leaks and other related issues.
Addressing reporters in Delhi, Rijiju emphasised the government’s willingness to engage in debate and urged Opposition parties to participate constructively rather than stall proceedings. “If you want debate and discussion then you will play a positive role. If you are avoiding a parliamentary debate then you start putting conditions after conditions,” he said.
Rijiju added that Opposition members could raise all demands, suggestions and clarifications during the debate and stressed that Parliament should not be disrupted. “We are with open heart asking and appealing the opposition party, don’t stall the Parliament. There are important bills and very important business in this Monsoon Session. We are ready to keep it aside and first of all initiate the discussion on the NEET exam paper leak and all the examinations which happen in the country. There are cases of paper leaks in different states. So it’s a concern for everybody. It is not a concern for one party or one state because paper leaks have happened in so many places,” he said.
Reacting to Rijiju’s remarks, Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla accused the Centre of neglecting student concerns and called for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. “Such is the situation that neither farmers are happy nor the youth. The government has woken up now after there were so many paper leaks. LoP Rahul Gandhi is the shadow PM, but you don’t let him speak. If you had listened to what he had said, this situation would not have arisen today. Education Minister must be asked to resign, and the government should apologise to the students,” Aujla stated.
Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar described the issue as critical to the future of the country’s youth and urged timely intervention by the Centre. “Today, the country is on a crossroads. The future of the students and youngsters of this country is in a big dilemma. We never expected that already more than hundreds of papers have been leaked. We should be cautious. The Prime Minister has spoken today, but he should have spoken in the very beginning itself. This is not an issue of any political party, this is the issue of the future of this country,” he said.
Earlier, Rijiju accused Opposition members of avoiding a debate on the NEET paper leak issue by imposing conditions after initially agreeing to discuss it in Parliament. He said he had reached out to Opposition leaders across party lines to facilitate a structured debate, but they later offered “excuses” to delay proceedings.
“Today, we hoped to initiate a debate on the NEET exam paper leak. Yesterday, we held talks with several leaders from opposition parties, as well as leaders across party lines, and everyone agreed on finding a way forward. However, as time progressed, they began imposing conditions again and making various excuses. Still, by evening, we were hopeful of finding a resolution through discussions with the Congress and other Opposition colleagues, especially since the Prime Minister made it abundantly clear today that complete measures are being taken to safeguard the lives and security of students and youth, and that no laxity or compromise will be tolerated,” Rijiju said.
The statements followed a confrontation inside Parliament premises earlier that day, where members of the NDA and INDIA blocs clashed at Makar Dwar. Opposition members protested against Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak controversy, while NDA parliamentarians accused the Opposition of blocking debate and spreading misinformation.
Tensions escalated when CPI(M) MP John Brittas was seen pulling a poster from BJP leader Arun Singh. Security personnel intervened to separate the two groups as they stood face-to-face, with slogans also exchanged between Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and BJP leaders during the incident.
BJP MP Sambit Patra accused the Congress of evading debate, citing ongoing dialogues between senior BJP leaders, student groups and activist Sonam Wangchuk over the past three days.
