New Delhi, July 30 -- The Centre and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi clashed on Wednesday over allegations of police excesses during a student protest in Delhi on July 20, with the latter demanding the resignation of Union home minister Amit Shah and the former demanding an apology. Both inside Parliament and outside, Gandhi sought to blame Shah over allegations that security forces brutalised student protesters during the march to Parliament last week. The government hit back, saying no bullets were fired and calling Gandhi's charges baseless. The dramatic exchanges came during the debate on a stringent new bill that aims for stricter punishment and time-bound trials for people accused of exam paper leaks. The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 - which overhauls the original legislation of 2024 - was passed in a voice vote after a 10-hour-long debate that saw protests, adjournments and a war of words. Gandhi accused Shah - under whose ministry the Delhi Police functions - of ordering pellet guns to be fired on students. In response, Union minister Jitendra Singh said no bullet was fired and only tear gas was used. "'Jab goli chali hi nahi, toh aadesh dene ka sawal hi paida nahi hota; aur aadesh dene ka adhikar magistrate ke pass rahta hai, mantri ke pas nahi' (when there were no bullets fired, the question of authorising it does not arise, and the directive to open fire is given by the magistrate, not a minister)," he said. This is the first time since the July 20 protest that the government has announced that no firing was done. HT has reported that five people - Sheikh Irshad Mansuri, a 25-year-old employee with a private firm, Nootan Toppo, a 32-year-old woman from Gurugram, a 28-year-old reporter, Prashant Singh, a 25-year-old Bihar resident, and 19-year-old Sahil Lochab, a student aspiring to join the police force - have alleged (in Lochab's case the allegations were made by the family) that they were hit with pellets on July 20. In the Lok Sabha, Gandhi alleged Shah was responsible for police excesses and the use of pellet guns, triggering furious protests from the treasury benches. "It is a serious allegation and a breach of his (Shah's) privilege. Rahul Gandhi must apologise and take back your words. On what basis could you level this allegation? How did you know?" said Kiren Rijiju. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav tried to come to Gandhi's rescue and said, if the LoP made an allegation, the government should clarify who ordered firing. Gandhi added that the use of force "could only be authorised by either the prime minister or the home minister," triggering another round of protests. Sticking to the demand for an apology, Rijiju said, "You claimed that the home minister had ordered firing. Show us the order. How can you make such irresponsible statements." Speaker Om Birla pointed out that rules of the House did not permit any allegations without prior notice and proof. "Is there a report of an enquiry commission, is there any order? The rules do not permit any member to make such allegations with advance notice." Gandhi tried to continue his speech, but the House got adjourned twice amid disruptions. This is the second time he could not finish his speech. Some of Gandhi's comments in the House were later expunged. Gandhi said, "There can be just two options; the home minister gave the order for firing, the other is that the home minister did not know that there will be firing."...