NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that “fast-track” courts would be set up to prosecute those behind exam paper leaks, his first public response after days of youth protests demanding the resignation of the education minister.

Modi’s comments came hours after protesters clashed briefly with police on the streets of New Delhi late on Wednesday, with officers firing tear gas and wielding canes to push them back.

The protests have grown into the biggest youth challenge to Modi since he came to power in 2014, with opposition parties echoing the demands of the youth movement and ⁠disrupting the monsoon session of parliament that began this week.

It is also the biggest political crisis of his third term that began in 2024.

“Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth!”, Modi posted on X.

“We have decided to set up fast-track courts to ensure swift and stringent punishment for those involved in paper leaks,” he said.

“This continues our series of steps for safeguarding the interests of students. Those who try to harm ‌the future of our youth will not be spared.”

Fast-track courts are special, dedicated courts designed to quickly hear and dispose of cases, created to get around India’s notoriously overburdened and slow justice system that can take years to conclude cases.

Such special courts have been set up to handle sex crimes against women and children, terrorism, money ‌laundering, and crimes by lawmakers.

CJP, Rahul Gandhi not impressed by announcement

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) launched protests last month against ‌the exam paper leaks that affected some 2 million students and have been linked to several suicides.

It responded on Thursday to Modi’s announcement by ‌quoting his X post and saying: “Dharmendra Pradhan Must Resign”, referring to ‌the education minister.

Leader of the main opposition Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, also responded by quoting Modi’s post and saying that it was the prime minister who had harmed the future of our youth the most.

“You allowed and encouraged the total capture ‌and destruction of our education system – and protected every person responsible for it,” Gandhi said and reiterated that Pradhan should be ⁠sacked, Modi should apologise to students, and those who assaulted them should be punished.

Late on Wednesday, more than 10,000 people were estimated to have gathered at the Jantar Mantar protest site in central New Delhi, local media said, as CJP leaders vowed to continue their month-old protest until Pradhan resigned over exam paper leaks.

Some protesters attacked police with stones and plastic bottles ⁠late on Wednesday, injuring a few police ⁠officers who were taken to hospital, news agency ANI quoted Delhi Police as saying.

On Monday, tens of thousands of protesters marched on parliament, clashed with police in some places as they were pushed back by tear gas rounds and cane-wielding police.

Delhi Metro shuts stations

The protests by CJP began as an online satire and ⁠involved only a few hundred young people when they were first launched.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said their protest would continue until Pradhan resigned.

“It has been 25 days so far. Even if it takes 25 months, that is acceptable, but we will not move from here,” Dipke said, addressing the protesters late on Wednesday night.

Delhi Metro Rail Corp. said it was shutting 16 stations in and around central New Delhi on Thursday until further notice, the second such large scale closure this week due to security concerns.

Responding to the sustained pressure from protesters, Modi’s government has held one round of ‌talks with CJP leaders and assured them that their demands will be considered. The government has also offered to debate the issues in parliament and launch exam system reforms.

Opposition groups led by the Congress party have echoed the demands of the protesters, with Gandhi heading a protest outside Modi’s house and outside the parliament building.

The CJP’s surge in popularity reflects frustrations among young Indians over issues such as job shortages, as well as frequent exam leaks.

It has also given opposition parties a rare opening to pressure Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which counts young voters as a core base and has won a series of state elections since a shock result in the 2024 election, when Modi did not win an outright ‌parliamentary majority.