'Dharmendra Pradhan Must Go': Rahul Gandhi Lists Three Demands Over NEET Row, Seeks PM Modi's Apology to Students
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday intensified his attack on the Centre over the alleged NEET paper leak controversy, placing three key demands before the government while extending support to students protesting across the country.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Gandhi said the first step towards restoring confidence in the education system should be the removal of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Calling the minister unfit to continue in office, Gandhi said, "Dharmendra Pradhan should be shown the door; he is incapable of holding the post."
The Congress leader also demanded accountability for the police action during the July 20 'Chalo Sansad' march organised by protesters. He insisted that officials responsible for using force against students should face action and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to publicly apologise. "Everyone who assaulted must be held accountable; PM Modi should have the decency to apologise to students for what has been done," Gandhi said.
Backing the ongoing agitation, Gandhi argued that students had every right to seek answers over repeated examination controversies. He alleged that paper leaks had become a recurring crisis, claiming that 152 examination paper leaks had taken place over the past decade without a single conviction.
"In the last 10 years, 152 paper leaks have taken place, and there have been zero convictions. Zero. So somebody, or a group of people, has destroyed our education system, India's most valuable asset, destroying the lives of our students. And what does the government do? Zero convictions. So this is the first reason, an absolutely legitimate reason, why our youngsters are protesting," he said.
Questioning the police response to the student demonstrations, Gandhi criticised the use of force against protesters, saying young people demanding a fair examination system should not be treated as criminals.
"Thousands and thousands of students, what have they done? To have security forces aiming weapons at them, to be beaten up, to be thrashed, to be humiliated. What have they done wrong? They're protesting peacefully. They're asking for their demands. They're asking for what this country owes them. They're not committing a crime," he said.
The Congress MP further claimed that India's education system had lost credibility because of repeated examination irregularities, arguing that students were being forced to repeatedly face uncertainty after months of preparation.
"Our students go through immense stress. And then, at the last minute, they are told that the paper has leaked. So there is a legitimate problem. And it is now a very deep problem in this country. The thing that is very clear to everybody is that our education system, which was known to be one of the best education systems in the world, is today a rigged system," Gandhi said.
He added that repeated paper leaks were damaging the future of lakhs of students every month and called for structural reforms to restore faith in India's examination system.
