Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that the Union government has taken steps to prevent paper leaks in the future, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told reporters.

Rijiju said that during the parliamentary affairs meeting of the National Democratic Alliance, Modi stated that the Union government acted swiftly after reports emerged that the exam paper of the undergraduate National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for medical admissions had been leaked, reported ANI.

The statement came a day after a large-scale protest by the political campaign Cockroach Janta Party in Delhi.

On Monday, as thousands of protesters sought to march to Parliament to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for the alleged mismanagement of competitive examinations, the police fired tear gas shells and lathi-charged them.

Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, alleged on Tuesday that female protesters were “brutally beaten” by male police officers. He apologised to the supporters of the political campaign, saying that the organisers of the protest “could have done better” to protect them from police action.

“To protect one Dharmendra Pradhan, who is responsible for the deaths of more than 20 students, the government was willing to spill the blood of many more young students,” Dipke said on social media.

‘PM has sought strictest punishment for paper leak’

Speaking to reporters, Rijiju said that Modi mentioned during the NDA meeting that 13 persons have been arrested in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak.

“At the same time, to ensure that students’ future was not affected, the NEET re-examination was given priority, conducted successfully, and the results were declared without delay,” Rijiju quoted the prime minister as saying.

He said that Modi had appealed that those involved in the paper leak should be given the strictest punishment, “with the support of the country’s top lawyers, so that those involved in such a grave offence face exemplary action and such incidents do not recur”.

The May 3 NEET examination was cancelled after the Rajasthan Special Operations Group began investigating allegations that a “guess paper” circulated before the examination contained questions closely matching the actual paper.

The “guess paper” contained around 410 questions, of which about 120 matched the questions asked in the chemistry section, according to the Rajasthan Police. The Central Bureau of Investigation filed a first information report in the matter based on a complaint by the Union education ministry.

The re-examination for admission to undergraduate medical courses in India was held on June 21 at 5,440 centres in the country and 14 centres abroad.

The results were declared on July 16, with 11.21 lakh candidates qualifying.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday morning, Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, met House Speaker Om Birla to demand that Parliament must have a discussion on the “brutality unleashed on students” and “the government’s complete lack of accountability for the examination crisis”.

Students were beaten for asking legitimate questions about their own future, Gandhi said on social media. “If Parliament cannot discuss the future of India’s youth, what is it for?” he asked.

CJP continues to demand Pradhan’s resignation

The Cockroach Janta Party resumed their protest at Jantar Mantar on Monday evening, stating that the demonstration would not end until Pradhan resigns from his post. The police had cleared the area during the day and dismantled the stage from where organisers had been addressing the crowd.

Earlier in the day, the campaign’s spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka met Bharatiya Janata Party leader JP Nadda at his residence in Delhi and submitted a memorandum.

Apart from Pradhan’s resignation, they demanded activist Sonam Wangchuk’s release from the Safdarjung Hospital and a Rs 1 crore compensation for the families of undergraduate National Eligibility cum Entrance Test aspirants who died by suicide.

Ranka later told the Hindustan Times that “the meeting turned out to be useless”. “No response has come from them,” he was quoted as saying. “Next time, we will not talk to them till they come to the protest site. If they do not value our time, we also do not value theirs.”

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

Also read: Why angry young protesters in Delhi have turned against Modi