- The Congress staged a protest over paper leaks outside the PM's residence
- "The students of India deserve far better than being treated as props in a political campaign," Pradhan said
- The minister accused the Congress of picking "political spectacle" over debate
Launching a volley against the Congress and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi for protesting outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence over the paper leaks issue, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has accused them of "exploiting students".
Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other leaders and workers had reached the PM's house on Tuesday afternoon to protest against the NEET paper leak and other leaks as well as the "brutality" against students who were part of the march to Parliament organised by the Cockroach Janta Party on Monday.
The protest was broken up around 6.30 pm and the Gandhi siblings were detained. They were released around 9 pm.
READ | Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi Moved From Protest Site, Taken Away In Bus
Taking aim at Rahul Gandhi and the Congress, Pradhan - whose resignation has been one of the key demands of both the party and the CJP - said they were shamelessly exploiting students as political tools to "manufacture disruption" during the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The protest by the Congress, he said, violated security protocols and caused inconvenience to the public.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh, who met Gandhi during the protest, had said the Leader of the Opposition told him the protest would be called off if a discussion was held in Parliament on the paper leaks and related issues. The Minister of State in the PMO had alleged the Centre had agreed to the demand, but Gandhi had then added another.
Pradhan repeated something similar.
"Even after Government conveyed its readiness for a comprehensive discussion, the Congress chose political spectacle over democratic debate. Their objective was never solutions for students, it was disruption for political headlines," the education minister wrote on X.
"For Rahul Gandhi, this is not about students. This is about manufacturing confrontation after every genuine avenue for discussion has been opened," he added.
Pradhan emphasised that the Centre is committed to discussing NEET and addressing the concerns of students and young people in Parliament.
"The students of India deserve far better than being treated as props in a political campaign. They deserve certainty over chaos, solutions over slogans and responsibility over disruption. We owe our students more than outrage. We owe them answers, reforms and accountability. That is exactly what our government remains committed to delivering," he said.
