4 min readNew DelhiJul 30, 2026 12:16 AM IST
WITH THE Bill seeking stringent measures to prevent exam paper leaks getting passed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the Opposition is learnt to be readying a strategy to keep the pressure on the government by shifting its focus on the alleged donation theft at Ayodhya’s Ram Temple, while also continuing to attack Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the police action against protesting students on July 20.
While the Samajwadi Party is all set to raise the alleged theft of donations at Ayodhya Ram Temple on the floor of the House to attack the BJP, Congress, too, does not want to let the momentum weaken and will continue to target Home Minister Shah over the police action on the protesting students. Sources, however, said that leaders from both sides are trying to create a consensus on issues to be taken on priority.
The Congress-led Opposition, which believes that it has succeeded in cornering the government over the issue of police action on the students, appeared buoyed from the Lok Sabha proceedings on Wednesday, and is keen to keep the momentum.
“The Leader of Opposition has successfully raised the issue related to Home Minister’s accountability during the debate today. Congress wants to continue with the same on Thursday in the Lok Sabha,” said a senior Congress leader. “The LoP was not allowed to complete. We cannot leave the issue there.”
He, however, said, “Our strategy meeting in the morning will take a call on how we have to prioritise these issues. The decision will be a collective one.”
Sources in the Congress said the party’s decision to keep the momentum on students’ issues would “be sensible politically”. For many party leaders, who admitted that no opposition party could take advantage of the “anti-BJP sentiments” created out of the students protests, raising the issue of police action against the protesters could “help to gain some ground”.
“Our assessment is that Rahul Gandhi seeking answers from the Home Minister for the brutal attack on students – which included the alleged use of pellet guns – will help keep the heat on the government for holding the relevant officials accountable,” said a Congress MP. “We have more than 100 MPs, including smaller allies like IUML and RSP, who think that it is very important.”
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Sources said that during the meeting in Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge’s chamber on Wednesday morning, all Opposition parties, including the Congress, SP and the TMC, agreed that the focus of the Opposition must now shift to the Ram Temple issue with elections in Uttar Pradesh early next year.
The SP has over the last few days been asking its allies to shift the focus from the paper leaks issue to the Ram Temple and has been “waiting patiently”, said sources.
“The SP has been very patient with us and has been waiting for the Ram Temple donation theft to come to the centre of the Opposition’s agenda. Now that they have been waiting for the last few days, we have decided it is time to shift the focus of the Opposition to the issue,” said a source present at the meeting on Wednesday.
A source in the SP said the Congress and other allies have agreed to raise the issue of Ram Temple in the House on Thursday. “There is broad consensus among us. We are all united. We will take a final call on our strategy tomorrow. But Ram Temple has to be taken up in the Lok Sabha and we have got our allies on board for that,” said the source.
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While the Lok Sabha is expected to see the Opposition demanding a discussion on the Ram Temple issue, the Rajya Sabha on Thursday is expected to take up the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026.