Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla urges consensus for debate on tougher anti-paper leak law

Birla announced that the House will take up the Bill, which, he said, is an extremely important piece of legislation related to the future, aspirations and hard work of crores of youths of the country.

“This Bill is very important to safeguard the interests of crores of youths by providing provisions to effectively check crimes like paper leaks and stringent penal provisions to punish culprits,” Birla said.

Over 90 amendments submitted

Underlining the need for a debate, the Speaker said that members had submitted 91 amendment notices, signalling significant interest across party lines to deliberate on the clauses.

“In a democracy, the expression of views by all is the core strength of the system,” Birla told the House. “Sloganeering and displaying placards is not the way to express views. I have allocated six hours for discussion, and if members wish to speak further, I will request the House to extend the time.”

Birla urged Opposition members to return to their seats and participate in the debate before adjourning proceedings until 5 pm to allow leaders to find common ground.

Concurring with the Speaker, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju questioned the rationale behind the Opposition’s protests despite filing multiple amendment notices.

“On the one hand, many amendment notices have been submitted, and the Speaker has agreed to grant sufficient time for debate; why then raise slogans?” Rijiju asked.

Saying that the nation’s youth were closely watching parliamentary proceedings, the minister added, “Preventing a debate on a crucial measure like the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill sends a very wrong message. I urge the Congress party to explain this to its colleagues and initiate the discussion. We agree whatever time the Speaker decides.”