Almost a day after the anti-paper leak bill was passed in the Parliament, activist Sonam Wangchuk on Thursday welcomed the Union government’s decision to strengthen India’s anti-paper leak framework. He described it as a landmark step towards restoring credibility in the country’s examination system.

He released a video message on Thursday, in which he expressed optimism that the new legislation would pave the way for wider educational reforms. Concurrently, he urged the Centre to honour its promises made to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) representatives, which included refraining from taking legal action against students who participated in the nationwide anti-paper leak protests. 

The activist continued by saying he was pleased that Parliament had initiated examination reforms and hoped that the legislation would emerge as a foundation for more comprehensive changes aimed at ensuring fairness, transparency and accountability across the education landscape. 

Wangchuk calls on Govt to honour written assurances

Wangchuk then referred to discussions held between government representatives, CJP spokespersons and student protestors during the agitation, appealing to the Centre to uphold the assurances extended to the movement’s participants. 

He then urged the Union government not to register First Information Reports( FIRs) against students who took part in the protests, emphasising that maintaining the trust of young people was paramount for the credibility of the reform process.

His appeal comes days after he ended his indefinite hunger strike at Delhi’s Medanta Hospital following CJP’s discussions with government representatives regarding exam reforms and measures to curtail paper leaks. 

For the unversed, the activist had joined the CJP and the student protestors at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on June 28, 2026 and resorted to a hunger strike, owing to which the issue became a focal point of the wider anti-paper leak campaign. 

CJP says Bill does not address root causes

Meanwhile, the CJP too welcomed the government’s acknowledgement of the issue, but said that the legislation falls short of addressing the systemic failures responsible for recurring exam paper leaks. 

CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka contended that the Bill primarily focuses on punitive measures after paper leaks ensue, instead of introducing safeguards to prevent such incidents altogether. 

Ranka added that the Parliament failed to sufficiently debate crucial reforms, including strengthening examination infrastructure, enhancing transparency, regulating coaching centres, overhauling the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), improving exam schedules and raising oversight of private vendors involved in conducting exams.

He drew an analogy, opining that treating the consequences of a paper leak without addressing its underlying measures was akin to applying a bandage after an injury rather than preventing the injury itself.