Bansuri Swaraj flags 22 UPA-era exam scams amid NEET paper leak debate
Synopsis
BJP's Bansuri Swaraj turned the NEET paper leak debate on its head in the Lok Sabha, presenting a list of 22 alleged exam irregularities under UPA and Opposition-ruled states — and demanding to know why Congress hasn't called for the Punjab Education Minister's resignation. The exchange exposed the political fault lines around a bill meant to fix a systemic problem.
Key Takeaways
Bansuri Swaraj accused the Opposition of 'selective outrage' during the Lok Sabha debate on 28 July .
She cited approximately 22 exam irregularities reportedly under the UPA government and Opposition-ruled states.
Six Central-government exams — including AIIMS-PG 2006 , AIEEE 2011 , and SSC CGL 2013 — were flagged as occurring under the Congress-led UPA.
The Supreme Court cancelled 27,753 appointments in the West Bengal teacher recruitment scam, she noted.
She challenged Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on bail remarks, stating courts — not the government — grant bail.
The debate centred on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 .
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha member Bansuri Swaraj on Tuesday, 28 July launched a sharp counter-offensive against the Opposition during the parliamentary debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, accusing Congress and allied parties of 'selective outrage' over examination paper leaks while ignoring a pattern of similar irregularities under their own watch.
The Core Charge: 22 Irregularities Under UPA
Swaraj asserted that approximately 22 exam irregularities were reported during the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and in Opposition-ruled states. 'If media reports are to be believed, in Opposition-ruled states and during the previous UPA government, around 22 paper leak cases were reported,' she said on the floor of the Lok Sabha.
She listed six examinations directly under the Central government during the Congress-led UPA tenure: the AIIMS-PG exam 2006, ICAI-CPT examination 2007, CLAT 2009, Railway Recruitment Board examination 2009, AIEEE 2011, and the SSC CGL exam 2013. 'All these exam irregularities took place during the Congress-led UPA regime,' she said.
State Governments in the Crosshairs
Swaraj broadened her attack beyond the Centre, citing paper leaks in states governed by Opposition parties. She alleged that during the Congress government in Rajasthan, multiple recruitment exams — including REET, RPSC, Senior Teacher Recruitment, Police Constable, Forest Guard, and CHMO recruitment — were compromised.
She also pointed to West Bengal, where she noted the Supreme Court cancelled 27,753 appointments in the teacher recruitment scam due to alleged fraud and manipulation during the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) government. Similar irregularities, she argued, occurred under the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Telangana and the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh. 'Organised exam gangs used to operate in Uttar Pradesh during SP's regime,' she remarked.
Targeting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, Swaraj said: 'This year itself a high-tech paper leak took place in the Punjab Pharmacy Officer recruitment exam.'
Response to Congress on NEET Bail Claims
The BJP MP was responding to Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, who had raised the NEET-UG paper leak investigation, citing a newspaper report claiming that 44 of the 45 persons chargesheeted in the case are currently out on bail. Swaraj pushed back sharply: 'Bail is given by the court and not by the government, and in a democracy, the Judiciary is independent of the Legislature and the Executive.'
She also challenged Gogoi directly: 'He spoke about the former Union Education Minister but has he sought the resignation of the Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains yet?' — a pointed question that framed the Opposition's criticism as politically selective.
The Bigger Picture
The exchange underscores the increasingly adversarial tone in Parliament around examination integrity, a subject that gained national salience following the NEET-UG 2024 controversy. Swaraj accused the Opposition of attempting to create a narrative that the paper leak problem 'was born in 2014,' a framing the BJP contests with its own historical ledger. This is the latest in a series of parliamentary standoffs where both sides have traded accusations rather than converging on systemic reform. The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 remains at the centre of the debate as lawmakers weigh stricter penalties and institutional accountability. How the bill proceeds through Parliament will signal whether the political heat translates into legislative action.
Point of View
Multi-decade failure, why has no government — UPA or NDA — built a tamper-proof examination architecture? Trading historical ledgers in Parliament generates heat but no accountability. The NEET crisis has already cost lakhs of students a fair shot; the debate's descent into whataboutery risks delaying the structural fixes the Amendment Bill is supposed to deliver. The real test of this bill will be whether it creates independent oversight with teeth — or becomes another legislative headline that leaves the gangs intact.
NationPress
28 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Bansuri Swaraj say about paper leaks in the Lok Sabha?
BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj told the Lok Sabha on 28 July that approximately 22 exam irregularities were reported under the previous UPA government and in Opposition-ruled states, accusing the Opposition of 'selective outrage' over the NEET paper leak. She listed six Central-government exams compromised during the Congress-led UPA tenure.
Which exams did Bansuri Swaraj cite as UPA-era irregularities?
She named AIIMS-PG 2006, ICAI-CPT 2007, CLAT 2009, Railway Recruitment Board examination 2009, AIEEE 2011, and SSC CGL 2013 as exam irregularities that occurred under the Congress-led UPA government.
What is the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026?
It is a bill under debate in the Lok Sabha aimed at preventing cheating and malpractice in public examinations. The debate on the bill triggered the exchange between BJP's Bansuri Swaraj and Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi over the NEET-UG paper leak case.
What did Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi allege about the NEET investigation?
Gogoi cited a newspaper report claiming that 44 of the 45 persons chargesheeted in the NEET-UG paper leak case are currently out on bail, questioning the pace and outcome of the investigation.
How did Swaraj respond to the NEET bail allegations?
Swaraj stated that bail is granted by the judiciary, not the government, asserting that the judiciary is independent of the legislature and executive in a democracy. She also asked whether Gogoi had sought the resignation of Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains over that state's own paper leak.
