New Delhi: The NDA Parliamentary Party's weekly 'Mangal Milan' meeting began in Parliament on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit
Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other senior alliance leaders in attendance. For the first time, the newly formed Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) has been invited to attend the NDA meeting. The meeting is being held at the GMC Balayogi Auditorium in the Parliament Library Building. The meeting also marks the first appearance of former TMC rebels, who are now part of the NCPI, at an NDA Parliamentary Party meeting. NCPI MPs Sudeep Bandopadhyay, Kakoli Ghosh, Shatabdi Roy, Sharmila Sarkar, Mitali Bagh and several others are expected to attend. The NDA's weekly meeting comes during a turbulent Monsoon Session, with exam reforms and the Opposition's protests over the alleged police action on students dominating Parliament. The meeting is being held a day after the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh. The Bill was tabled amid continuous sloganeering by Opposition members, forcing the House to be adjourned. The proposed law seeks to further strengthen the legal framework against paper leaks and examination malpractices by introducing seven key amendments to the 2024 Act. It proposes time-bound investigations and trials, Special Fast-Track Courts, Special Task Forces, Special Public Prosecutors, stricter punishments, higher financial penalties and a simplified appeals process. The NDA has also lined up several young MPs to speak during the four-hour discussion on the Bill. These include BJP MPs Bansuri Swaraj and Tejasvi Surya. Other speakers are expected to include JDU's Alok Kumar Suman, TDP's Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, Shiv Sena's Shrikant Shinde, NCP's Sunil Tatkare, Apna Dal's Anupriya Patel, LJP (Ram Vilas)'s Arun Bharti, along with NCPI leaders Sharmila Sarkar and Mitali Bagh. The meeting is politically significant as the Opposition has continued to disrupt Parliament, demanding accountability from Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the alleged police action during the July 20 'Sansad Chalo' protest. Opposition parties have also questioned whether the proposed exam reform law goes far enough to tackle paper leaks. At the previous NDA Parliamentary Party 'Mangal Milan' meeting on July 21, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said the government "stands with the students" and stressed that paper leaks were a matter of national concern that should not be politicised. Speaking to reporters after that meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Prime Minister had called for strict action against those involved in examination irregularities in consultation with legal experts. Rijiju also reiterated that protecting students' interests remained the government's priority and said the government had discussed farmers' welfare as well as recently signed Free Trade Agreements with several countries.
