Opposition to keep pressure on Amit Shah, participate in debate on paper leak Bill

Published 27 July 2026 · politics

On the first day of Parliament after the students’ protests were called off, the Opposition signalled that it would continue to target Home Minister Amit

On the first day of Parliament after the students’ protests were called off, the Opposition signalled that it would continue to target Home Minister Amit Shah over the police use of pellet guns and excessive force against protesting students. However, there were differences on whether to disrupt or participate in the debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, at the Indian Developmental Inclusive Alliance bloc meeting on Monday, though it was later resolved that the parties should present their point of view. Also read | Government tables Bill on paper leaks; Parliament to debate it on July 28 Samajwadi Party sources said the Opposition should also demand a debate on the Ram Temple donation theft case. According to sources, Dharmendra Yadav, the SP’s chief whip, said during the meeting that this issue should not be allowed to be buried.

However, a significant section of Opposition leaders, according to sources, was of the opinion that they should continue to focus on policy issues such as education. Wading into the Ram Temple issue would open them up to counterattacks and help communalise the narrative. “The students have done their job. We must not fail them,” a top Opposition leader said. Opposition leaders shared the details of the instances of “police brutalities” in their respective State, including the incident of the police using AK-47 in Bihar. It was also decided that during the debate on the legislation,, known in common parlance as the “paper leak Bill”, these instances must be highlighted. The Opposition has also resolved that its parliamentary strategy should include not only floor coordination, but also coordination about agitations beyond the parliamentary premises.

Among those who pushed for the Opposition’s participation in the debate on the paper leak Bill was Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) MP N.K. Premachandran. He explained the technicalities of the Bill to the gathering. Later, speaking to The Hindu, he said, “This Bill is an eyewash. Beyond increasing the fine and the jail term, it introduces no substantive changes. In fact, the Centre has inserted provisions that effectively reduce States to spectators, including a clause enabling the creation of a task force to investigate paper leaks that reports exclusively to the Union government.” The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which has been skipping INDIA bloc meetings since the Congress walked out of the alliance in Tamil Nadu, has also expressed a similar opinion on the Bill.