Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of threatening Gen Z, and said that the duo is "India's past" and should be careful about how they treat the country's future.
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha also alleged that Modi and Shah are behind the filing of FIRs against student protesters and taking down their social media accounts.
"PM Modi and Amit Shah – you cannot threaten Gen Z into silence. First you broke their bones. Now you are filing FIRs and taking down their accounts," Gandhi said on X.
"You are India's past. Be careful about how you treat India's future," the former Congress chief said.
The remarks came after Modi on Thursday said it has become necessary to bring comprehensive reforms in the education system, both at the Centre and in the states, to tackle the menace of paper leaks, asserting that there would be no mercy shown to gangs playing with the future of children.
In a late evening video message on Instagram, shortly after Parliament passed a Bill to amend the anti-paper leak law, the prime minister said that leaks in various examinations have become a major challenge not only for students but also for the Centre and many states.
"The Centre and many states have been facing the paper leak problem for several years. The menace has threatened the future of children appearing in various examinations.
"Therefore, it had become necessary to bring comprehensive changes to the education system to deal with the problem," the prime minister said.
Referring to the anti-paper leak Bill, which was passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday and the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Modi said that as promised, a strong law is now in place to tackle the issue."We will not spare the paper leak gangs, paper leak mafia and those playing with the future of children," the prime minister said.
Modi also said that a task force has been constituted, fast-track courts are being set up, and suggestions are being taken from states to strengthen the examination process and prevent irregularities.
Parliament on Thursday passed The Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, to amend the 2024 anti-paper leak law by introducing stricter punishments against paper leaks.
The Bill was cleared in the Rajya Sabha with a voice vote amid a walkout by several opposition parties from the INDIA bloc.
