Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday, July 25, 2026, sharply criticised the Narendra Modi-led central government, accusing it of deploying harsh measures against students demanding their rights — while failing to prevent paper leaks in competitive examinations.

In a pinned post on X, Gandhi wrote in Hindi: 'मेट्रो बंद करो। रास्ते बंद करो। दुकानें बंद करो। Internet बंद करो। खाना बंद करो।' — translating to: 'Shut down the metro. Block the roads. Close the shops. Cut the internet. Stop the food.' He alleged these were the 'cruel steps' the government took against students who were merely asserting their rights. The post ended with a pointed jibe: 'There was just one thing you could not shut down, Modi ji — the paper leak.'

Context

Gandhi's remarks come amid what he characterised as a state crackdown on student demonstrators protesting examination irregularities. The post, which he pinned to the top of his profile, alleges that authorities resorted to suspending metro services, blocking roads, shutting commercial establishments, imposing internet restrictions, and disrupting food supply to suppress the agitation.

The Leader of the Opposition framed these alleged measures as disproportionate, contrasting the government's capacity for enforcement with its inability — or unwillingness — to secure the integrity of competitive examinations.

Policy Backdrop

Concerns over paper leaks in national-level examinations have been a recurring flashpoint in Indian education policy. In 2024, allegations of a paper leak in the NEET medical entrance examination triggered nationwide protests by aspirants and drew intense scrutiny of the National Testing Agency (NTA), the body responsible for conducting major competitive exams.

Opposition parties, including the Indian National Congress, have consistently argued that the government's response to exam-related protests prioritised law-and-order management over systemic reform. Parliamentary debates on restructuring the NTA and introducing stronger anti-leak legislation have remained unresolved in subsequent sessions.

Stakeholders and Impact

At the centre of the controversy are exam aspirants — millions of students across India who depend on the integrity of competitive examinations for admission to medical colleges, engineering institutes, and government jobs. Any disruption to these processes, whether through paper leaks or administrative failures, has direct consequences for their academic and professional futures.

Gandhi's post amplifies the political salience of student grievances ahead of what observers expect to be continued parliamentary pressure on education governance. The framing — pitting state coercion against student rights — is consistent with the broader opposition strategy of positioning the government as hostile to youth mobilisation.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to Parliament, where opposition lawmakers are expected to press the government on the status of proposed reforms to the National Testing Agency and any new legislative framework to criminalise and prevent paper leaks. The government's response to Gandhi's allegations — and to the underlying student protests — is likely to shape the political narrative around education accountability in the coming weeks.