Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday that fast-track courts would prosecute those behind exam paper leaks, responding publicly for the first time after days of youth-led protests demanding the education minister's resignation.
However, the protesters and opposition parties swiftly rejected Modi's proposal and insisted that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan quit first, with opposition groups disrupting parliament for the fourth day this week.
Protesters clashed briefly with police on the streets of New Delhi late Wednesday, with officers firing tear gas and wielding canes to push them back. The protests have swelled into the biggest youth challenge to Modi since he came to power in 2014.
Opposition parties have echoed the demands of the youth movement and have disrupted the monsoon session of parliament that began this week. It marks the biggest political crisis of Modi's third term, which began in 2024.
"Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth!" Modi posted on X.
