Protests over, Modi resets agenda: Exam reforms first, delimitation next

On Monday, the government is set to introduce an amendment Bill to ensure swift and stringent punishment to those involved in exam paper leaks. The Union Cabinet had approved the changes to the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, on July 24.

Preparing to parry the Opposition’s offensive on alleged police excesses against the protesters, the government is also focusing on introducing at the earliest the legislative package on operationalising the women’s reservation law and expanding the strength of Parliament and state legislatures, sources said.

A senior government functionary said the focus remains on women’s quota law and delimitation. “There is no delay. Our priority is to implement women’s reservation as the Prime Minister has promised,” said the official, when asked if the Jantar Mantar protests had wrecked the government’s plans.

If the Bills are not introduced during the ongoing Monsoon Session, it would have to be brought during the Winter Session later this year as the Constitution freezes the readjustment of seats only until the first Census conducted after 2026. With the 2027 Census expected to be that Census, the constitutional bar on fresh delimitation would cease thereafter.

‘Business as usual’

Come Monday, it would be “business as usual”, said another senior government functionary. “He (Pradhan) had nothing to do with the (NEET-UGC) paper leak. He has taken moral responsibility and stepped down. That is all there is to it. This has nothing to do with the government’s legislative agenda.”

“What happened beyond the precincts of the Parliament, and was taken to its logical conclusion by a slew of measures aimed at regaining the trust of the youth, is different from the legislative agenda which is part of the government’s commitment,” said a BJP insider.

“If anything, the successful redress of the Gen Z and youth protesters’ concerns not just through official assurances but concrete governmental and administrative measures such as the Cabinet’s nod to the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, and the complete restructuring of the National Testing Agency (NTA), along with two other significant demands, has only underlined the government’s strong foundation among the people including the youth,” he said.

A senior BJP leader agreed, saying the government’s “reconciliatory approach”, with PM Modi as its face, to a youth-driven movement that had the potential of “snowballing into a negative campaign” had helped its chances of mustering the two-thirds majority required to approve amendments to the Constitution.

The BJP-led NDA was “more than prepared” to take on the Opposition in a debate on exam paper leaks, the BJP functionary said. “For parties which are on the fence regarding supporting the NDA, the government’s swift and satisfactory response (to youth protests) is being seen to have provided an opportunity to exhibit issue-based support to be on the right side of historic legislation such as the women’s reservation law,” said the leader.

“Parties such as the Congress were hoping that their narrative of the government being too stubborn to remove Dharmendra ji would stick. But that is no longer the case. They can no longer run away from debating (the paper leak) issues which they themselves demanded a discussion on,” he said.