Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda addresses a press conference at BJP headquarters in New Delhi, July 22, 2026.
\| Photo Credit: PTI

Union Minister J.P. Nadda on Wednesday (July 22, 2026) urged the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, not to be “selective” in citing paper leak cases, saying that such a serious issue should not be exploited for political mileage. He said the government was ready for an in-depth discussion in Parliament, which he described as the most appropriate forum to collectively find lasting solutions.

At a late-evening press conference, Mr. Nadda said: “Students have raised concerns regarding paper leaks. I appeal that the issue should not be turned into a political matter, nor should anyone seek political gains from it. This is a grave problem, and it deserves a serious and in-depth discussion.”

He said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi was treating the issue with the utmost sincerity.

Reacting to Mr. Gandhi’s press briefing earlier in the day, the Union Minister said the LoP quoted a figure of about 150 instances of paper leaks. “These matters require investigation. This is a responsible government; every issue will be thoroughly examined and all the facts will be placed before the people,” he said.

Mr. Nadda said Mr. Gandhi did not mention incidents of paper leak and related irregularities reported under governments led by Opposition parties, including the Congress. Claiming that the list was much longer, Mr. Nadda said some of them had happened in Jammu \& Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Punjab, Kerala, and Karnataka.

“I want to ask the Leader of the Opposition: why are you being so selective? This shows that your objective is not the welfare of students Instead, you want to derive political mileage from students’ issues, which is unfortunate,” said Mr. Nadda.

He said rather than engaging in accusations and counter-accusations, the best forum to discuss the issue was Parliament. “We are ready for a detailed discussion to get to the root of the problem, identify the factors behind paper leaks, examine how the Union government has responded, and discuss how other governments should also tackle it,” the Union Minister said.

“The Opposition should not keep shifting the goalposts. We are not making any accusations against anyone. Children are the country’s future and it is the responsibility of both the government and the Opposition to safeguard their interests. We should come together to formulate a sound policy, find a permanent solution,” said Mr. Nadda.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh termed Mr. Nadda’s press conference “a sure sign of the regime’s increasing desperation.”

“The whole press conference was an unending series of ‘what-aboutery’. Mr. Nadda must go beyond such juvenile finger-pointing to first acknowledge the uniquely spectacular nature of the Mantri Pradhan’s and Pradhan Mantri’s failures,” Mr. Ramesh wrote on X.

‘Political tools’

Earlier, terming the ongoing protests in Delhi a matter of serious concern, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that attempts were being made to “use the students and youth” as “political tools to serve their own political interests”. He said under Mr. Modi’s leadership, the government remained fully committed to fulfilling the aspirations of students and young people and ensuring their welfare.

“It is our responsibility to listen to every concern raised by our students and address it effectively. I am fully confident that India’s aware, mature and discerning youth can clearly see through such misleading attempts and will continue to choose the path of progress, development, and nation-building,” said Mr. Singh.

He said that despite the government expressing willingness to hold meaningful discussions on every issue in Parliament, the Opposition was trying to “seek solutions on the streets”. “If the Opposition is serious about these matters, it should refrain from disrupting the ongoing Monsoon Session and instead use Parliament to raise all issues and draw the country’s attention to them,” he said.

Published - July 23, 2026 12:33 am IST