'Students Said Paper Leak Hurt Them Initially, Later They Performed Better': Nirmala Sitharaman
'Students Said Paper Leak Hurt Them Initially, Later They Performed Better': Nirmala Sitharaman Published By, Last Updated: July 25, 2026, 07:55 IST Appealing to the
'Students Said Paper Leak Hurt Them Initially, Later They Performed Better': Nirmala Sitharaman Published By, Last Updated: July 25, 2026, 07:55 IST Appealing to the Opposition to participate in a comprehensive debate over paper leak, Sitharaman said the government was prepared to answer all questions. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. (File Photo) Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday hit back at the Opposition over its protests on the paper leak issue, claiming that while the government acted swiftly to arrest those responsible and ensure re-examinations, several students had overcome the setback and performed even better. Speaking amid the ongoing massive protests over alleged paper leaks, Sitharaman said the issue was deeply sensitive as it concerned the future of young aspirants and their families. ‘Students Took Advantage Of Paper Leak’ She said the Centre had responded promptly, with arrests already made and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing fast-track courts to ensure speedy punishment for those involved. The minister said that some students took the paper leak as a challenge and came out with flying colours in the re-examination. “Young people are now finding the institutions where they have to go for higher education. There are young people who are coming out and saying, ‘Yes, first it sort of hurt me when the paper leakages happened, but later I took advantage of that and prepared even more and my performance has improved and I’ve done well.’ So there are people who looked at it, even young people who have taken this challenge and faced this, and come out with flying colours," Sitharaman said.
Sitharaman Slams ‘Opposition’s Tirade’ She added that if the government had failed to act, criticism from the Opposition would have been understandable. Also Read: ‘Thank You Friends’: PM Modi Shares Second Reel In 24 Hours After NEET Post Gets Massive Response “A matter which relates to students, young people of this country, particularly about their preparation for exams, exam paper leakage and re-exam, these are very sensitive for that age of the children who are undergoing the preparation. If the government is not sensitive or not reacting, I can understand the opposition going on a tirade like this," she said. “At the level of the Prime Minister, a response has been given. Even before today’s announcement of setting up fast-track courts, the government had arrested those who committed this crime. Those who leaked, bought and sold exam papers have all been arrested," the minister added. Minister Hails Fast-Track Courts Referring to the Prime Minister’s announcement, Sitharaman said the fast-track mechanism would reassure parents and students that those responsible for compromising the sanctity of examinations would be punished at the earliest. The minister said that the government had arrested the culprits much before the announcement of the fast-track courts. “In fact, much before today’s announcement of setting up fast-track courts and assuring the punishments will be handed over to those people who violated the sacredness of an exam by leaking the papers, by buying papers, by selling papers. Even earlier to this announcement, the government arrested those people who actually committed this crime," the minister said. Sitharaman Calls Congress ‘Notorious’ For Disrupting House Launching a sharp attack on the Congress, the finance minister accused the party of exploiting the issue for political gains instead of participating in a debate in Parliament.
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