Lucknow, Aug 31 (PTI) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday paid tributes to former Uttar Pradesh CM Kalyan Singh, recalling his tough decision to enact an anti-copying law against mass cheating in school exams.

Rajnath was the education minister in the Kaylan's cabinet when the law was enacted in 1992.

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The defence minister recalled that there was a "difference of opinion" over the law and the draft of its ordinance was rejected twice by the cabinet.

The draft was rejected on the ground that it was an an unpopular decision, Rajnath said.

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The draft of the legislation got the nod only after he met Kalyan Singh and pressed for it, said the defence minister addressing a meeting held to pay tributes to the former CM, who died recently after prolonged illness.

"When the anti-copying ordinance was put in the cabinet, there was a difference of opinion. It was not cleared twice. It was said that if there are five members in a family of one crore students, five crore people will go against the BJP," Rajnath said.

Rajnath said Kalyan Singh did not say anything when he met him over the issue.

Later, when the cabinet meeting was held again, Kalyan Singh took out the file and approved it, saying the education minister has requested for it and no discussion will be held on it, Rajnath said.

The anti-copying law was enacted in 1992 by the UP government.

It aimed at stopping mass copying in board examinations in the state.

The act made use of unfair means in examinations a non-bailable and a cognisable offence. It allowed police to enter the examination premises and conduct checks.

The immediate fallout of the tough measure was that results of Classes 10 and 12 board classes dropped considerably that year.

The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party government headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav repealed it the following year.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)