Parliament Monsoon Session Day 9 LIVE: Lok Sabha passes bill to criminalise insults to Vande Mataram

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Rajya Sabha witnesses uproar as Kharge alleges RSS people are heading educational institutions, seeks their removal

Updated - July 30, 2026 05:47 pm IST

Lok Sabha proceedings underway during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on Thursday (July 30, 2026). | Photo Credit: ANI

‘The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026’ was passed in the Lok Sabha on Thursday (July 30, 2026). The Bill was passed with a symbolic debate as DMK’s Kanimozhi and BJP Sambit Patra spoke for a few minutes. The Lok Sabha will reconvene on Friday (July 31, 2026) at 11 a.m.

The Rajya Sabha is debating The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026.

Also read | Rahul Gandhi attacks government, RSS over students’ protest in Lok Sabha

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Leader of the Opposition and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said Home Minister Amit Shah is responsible for the atrocities on students. The House witnessed uproar as Mr. Kharge alleged RSS people are heading educational institutions.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh raised questions on EduTest company, which has conducted exams across Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar, and has been blacklisted in all three states.

He alleged the company kept getting examination contracts due to the government’s unfair bias.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh started by paying tribute to the 1.23 lakh students who have ended their lives in the past 10 years.

Mr. Singh highlighted the backlog of cases in fast-track courts, the lack of facilities in education and schools. ‘Anpadh banega India, tabhi toh andbhakt banega India’ (When India becomes illiterate, then India will become blind fans), Mr. Singh said.

He raised questions on the use of excessive force during students’ protest in Delhi and Bihar.

“The police fired AK-47 on students in Bihar,” Mr. Singh said, stating the government has behaved like terrorists.

The events of the past few months have upset us all, NCP MP Praful Patel said during a discussion on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill.

We have to discuss this issue without politicising it since it is about the future of the country’s youth.

Mr. Patel, while supporting the democratic right to protest, also raised a question on the kind of language used during the protests. Mr. Patel also called for the correct guidance for the youth.

The current Bill should be considered as the government’s strength and its efforts to take the country forward and not its weakness.

Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav, speaking during the discussion on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill questioned the need to just increase punishment for crimes.

Only increasing punishment will not prevent the crime from happening, Mr. Yadav said.

He proposed that NEET exam be abolished and states be given the power to conduct entrance exams to medical education.

CPI(M) MP A.A. Rahim raised an objection on JDU(U) MP Sanjay Kumar’s remarks referring to a Malayalam channel. Mr. Jha stated a Malayalam channel showed a Dubai businessman paying 23 people to take part in India’s recent students’ protest.

The chair assured Mr. Rahim Mr. Jha’s allegations will be examined.

Bihar JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, while speaking during the discussion on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill listed the Centre’s achievements in terms of medical education.

He alleged that a Malayalam new channel showed a Dubai businessman paying 23 people to send them to India and take part in the recent students’ protests. Mr. Jha’s remarks were met with opposition by Congress MPs.

While students’ questions and points were right, it raises the question what kind of people took part in these protests, Mr. Jha said.

Surprisingly, the government has not yielded to the demands of the farmers who have been on strike for a year, the people of Manipur, nor those who protest against CAA, but the students have made the government bow down within a month, says Tiruchi Siva.

“This is the power of the students. Don’t underestimate them and treat them with your pointed guns, lathis and tear gas; that is not the way,” he adds.

The Prime Minister speaks on social media, but he doesn’t come to the House during the discussion of Bills, Mr. Siva says.