Six Paper Leaks in Punjab, Future of 1 Million Students Put at Stake: Education Minister Bains Must Resign, Says Shubham Sharma

Jalandhar, August 17, 2026: Demanding the resignation of Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains over various examination paper leaks in Punjab during the tenure of the Aam Aadmi Party government, the Youth Congress today staged a protest outside the DC office in Jalandhar under the leadership of Punjab Youth Congress State President Shubham Sharma “Shubhi.” After marching from the protest site to the DC office, State President Shubhi also submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner.
Expressing concern over the reported UGC-NET paper leak in Delhi today, he said it was unfortunate that despite repeated incidents, the Central Government had failed to prevent paper leaks. He said the government had failed even after bringing an anti-paper-leak law.
Addressing the protesters and speaking to the media, Shubham Sharma said that during the four-and-a-half-year tenure of the Aam Aadmi Party’s Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab, a total of six examination papers had been leaked. According to him, the future of more than one million students had been affected. He said that the first recruitment examination—for Tehsildars—was leaked just one-and-a-half months after the government came to power. He alleged that the government was trying to suppress these paper-leak incidents.
Shubham Sharma said, “These are not the children of Congress leaders; they are the children of Punjab. We are also not protesting merely as Congress leaders, but as young people, and that is why we are holding demonstrations at the district level across Punjab. The blood of Babasaheb Ambedkar also runs through us. Mahatma Gandhi belonged to us, and Shaheed Bhagat Singh also lives within us. We have never learned to compromise on our principles. The way the Mann government has treated students is unfortunate.”
Referring to the incident at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in which he questioned AAP leader Manish Sisodia, State President Shubhi said that he had asked Sisodia why he was speaking about students affected by the NEET paper issue in Delhi, while no resignation had been sought from Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann or Education Minister Harjot Bains despite six paper leaks in Punjab. He said that instead of answering the question, Manish Sisodia challenged him and said, “We have our government in Punjab; I will see you there.”
Shubhi said he had responded, “You can see us on the streets of Punjab whenever you want. We are Rahul Gandhi’s lions, and we know how to respond to a brick with a stone.”
Shubhi further said that recently the Youth Congress had surrounded Education Minister Harjot Bains’ residence in Ropar. He said the police had erected barricades two kilometres before the minister’s residence, but the protesters broke through the barricades and reached outside the minister’s house, where they also blackened the face of the minister’s poster. He asserted that the Punjab Youth Congress would not remain silent until justice was delivered to the youth of Punjab.
On the issue of students who allegedly died by suicide in connection with the NEET and other paper-leak cases, Shubham Sharma also questioned Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and asked what the Punjab government had done to provide justice to these students. He asked whether the government had sought Education Minister Bain’s resignation or whether the Chief Minister had resigned himself. He alleged that the AAP government had done nothing.
The State President said, “Mann, have you ever tried to understand the pain of those parents who have had to carry the funeral biers of their young children? Have you ever understood what those parents go through when they carry the bodies of their children on their shoulders?” He said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann should immediately seek the resignation of the Education Minister and establish a robust system to prevent examination paper leaks.
Shubham Sharma has also been conducting a series of meetings across Punjab on the issue of paper leaks. He is scheduled to hold a meeting of the district executive in Kapurthala today as well.
Punjab Youth Congress State General Secretary Deepak Khosla, District Urban President Angad Dutta, Youth Congress Rural President Manpreet Chaddha, along with other members of the state executive, also participated in the protest and addressed the gathering.