A brand new BJP vs Congress flashpoint erupted Tuesday in Parliament after Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra described a member of the Centre's newly constituted education reform panel as a "cow urine expert", prompting strong objections from BJP MPs, including Anurag Thakur.

The controversy unfolded during the debate on 'The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026', as the Congress MP questioned the government's approach to overhauling India's examination system following the National Testing Agency (NTA) crisis.

Although she did not name anyone directly, her remarks were widely interpreted as referring to Professor V Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, who is among the six domain experts appointed to a "high-powered" task force announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to recommend reforms aimed at making public examinations leakproof.

#TheBuckStopsHere with @PadmajaJoshi | Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi mocks IIT Madras Director in Lok Sabha pic.twitter.com/wVkZChmmdv

— NDTV (@ndtv) July 28, 2026

Making a passionate argument for not just punishing those guilty of paper leaks but overhauling the system to ensure an entire year of a student's life does not depend on one examination attempt, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday reminded his Parliament colleagues that an aspirant walking into an exam hall carries the hopes of an entire family with him.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha during the debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, which seeks to enhance punishments for paper leaks, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said the ambition must be to prevent such incidents from happening in the first place.

"We are here because the system is broken and we must fix it. Every year, millions of Indians sit for examinations like NEET, UGC-Net, JEE. They don't just carry an admit card into the exam hall, they carry years of hard work, sleepless nights, the hopes of entire families. Behind them are parents who exhaust their savings on coaching and books. Mothers and fathers who actually put their own needs aside so their child can have one more chance. And students who leave the comfort of their homes, often at a very young age, to spend years in unfamiliar cities chasing a single opportunity," Tharoor said.

I finally got to speak in the LokSabha on the Paper Leaks Amendment Bill at 10:40 pm. I dramatically abbreviated my arguments for lack of time, but made a few crucial points in the nine minutes I was given, punctuated by the Chair ringing the bell repeatedly and even switching… pic.twitter.com/1hUHKBXjin

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 28, 2026

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju has criticised the opposition parties for "politicising" the issue of competitive examinations paper leaks.

Speaking to reporters after Parliament was adjourned at midnight, Rijiju said, "We have just left Parliament at 12 AM... The opposition parties did not speak on the bill itself. They politicised the issue. In contrast, everyone from the NDA who spoke addressed the bill... NDA MPs participated very constructively. Unfortunately, those who spoke from the Congress side focused largely on political matters unrelated to the bill. However, the fact that Parliament continued late into the night is a positive thing."

Congress party has miserably failed to give any substantive suggestion on the The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill. They were doing politics throughout all along. Opposition parties are exposed completely. pic.twitter.com/HYvbt9sVUR

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) July 28, 2026

Thank you Members of Parliament 🙏 pic.twitter.com/3yAYIt8Gjt

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) July 28, 2026