- Union Education Minister Pradhan accused Rahul Gandhi of politicising the NEET paper leak issue.
- Pradhan criticized Gandhi for holding a programme in Kota to "scare students" before the exam.
- The minister condemned Congress for using student suicides for political purposes.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his attacks on the government in the NEET paper leak row, accusing him of trying to "derail students' preparations" and "create anarchy".
In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Pradhan said Rahul Gandhi and the Congress were playing "low-level politics" on the issue.
Responding to Gandhi's criticism and student outreach programmes, Pradhan said he was "disappointed with Rahul's behaviour in this whole episode".
"The Opposition has the right to ask questions. But three days before the exam, Rahul Gandhi held a programme in Kota to scare students, to derail students' preparations," Pradhan said.
Two days after the NEET re-exam which was held due to the paper leak of the first exam on May 3, the Education Minister made a charge on Rahul Gandhi saying that he and the Congress wanted the re-exam to fail.
On Student Suicides
Attacking Gandhi for "politicising" student suicides, the Education Minister said he holds himself accountable but added that the Congress using student deaths for politics was "abhorrent".
"As Education Minister, I curse myself every time there is a student suicide. We have to fix the broken system. But the way Congress and Rahul Gandhi used student suicides is low-level politics," he said.
The minister also accused the Congress of indulging in "politics of abuse and allegation" without offering solutions. "I have not come across a single positive suggestion from Rahul Gandhi or the Congress on how to improve the system," he said.
Abu Dhabi Centre Row
Referring to the controversy over a student being allotted an exam centre in Abu Dhabi, the minister clarified that the centre was allotted at the request of the student's father. "When the issue was flagged, the National Testing Agency acted within hours and changed the centre to Nagpur. The student's father himself had sought the Abu Dhabi centre," Pradhan said. He slammed Gandhi for politicising the incident. "NTA's fact-check left Rahul red-faced," Pradhan said.
Congress Attacks
Rahul Gandhi and the Congress have repeatedly targeted the government over alleged irregularities in NEET-UG, including paper leaks and issues with exam centres. At a student interaction in Kota last week, Gandhi alleged the exam system was "rigged" and said lakhs of students were suffering due to "corruption in the education system".
The Congress has demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe and the Education Minister's resignation. The party has also questioned the NTA's functioning and the government's handling of student grievances.
Pradhan rejected the charges, saying the government had taken corrective steps wherever lapses were reported and accused the Opposition of misleading students for political gain.
