New Delhi, July 29: A sharp exchange broke out in the Lok Sabha between Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju during discussions on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026. The clash erupted after the Congress leader shared an anecdote involving a student, drawing immediate objections from the Treasury benches and prompting Speaker Om Birla to remove the controversial phrasing from official records.
The disruption occurred as Gandhi recounted a conversation regarding the essence of being a student. Narrating the interaction, Gandhi stated, “A student is someone who, right from the beginning, accepts that they do not know everything. A student accepts that whatever they know will be superseded later by new knowledge.” He added that the student referenced Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography, noting, “‘the search for my truth,’ meaning ‘this is my truth, your truth might be different.'”
Government ministers swiftly raised objections to the phrasing used during the narration. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju asserted, “Had Rahul Gandhi not used an unparliamentary word, nobody would have objected. I believe that he is using a word in the name of a student, but it is he who is using it… He cannot use an unparliamentary word. It should be expunged.”
Joining the call for removal, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated, “I humbly request that the unparliamentary word used by the LoP be expunged and I urge everyone on my side to maintain silence and listen to him.” Speaker Om Birla subsequently ordered the expression to be removed from the House proceedings.
Prior to the confrontation, the Leader of the Opposition had addressed the ongoing student unrest surrounding the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. Gandhi declared that the protests represented “not anger, not violence, not hatred,” but rather “a deep expression” of India’s youth, while maintaining that all political parties must respect the aspirations of students.
