New Delhi: The Congress party on Wednesday slammed Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for his remarks on Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and said that the former has “no moral right to even comment”, while demanding his resignation from the Union Ministry.
This came a day after Pradhan sharply criticised Gandhi and the Congress party for allegedly using students as “political tools” during the ongoing protests over the NEET paper leak.
Reacting to this, Congress MP Jebi Mather told IANS, “Dharmendra Pradhan has no moral right to even comment. Dharmendra Pradhan has the audacity to make such statements when he is the main person responsible; when he is the culprit for this kind of mismanagement of the education system, of paper leak.”
“Instead of stepping down, he is making big speech. He has to immediately resign, and we will go to any extent protesting and demanding that,” she added.
Congress MP Pawan Khera, speaking to IANS, said, “They (the government) are playing politics against the students. Tell Dharmendra Pradhan not to give such long speeches. He should simply resign. We do not want his speeches; we want his resignation.”
The Congress has been demanding a thorough probe into the NEET-UG paper leaks and Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
Pradhan’s remarks had come hours after LoP Rahul Gandhi, along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other Opposition leaders, staged a sit-in protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence at Lok Kalyan Marg, demanding the Education Minister’s resignation.
In a post on X, Pradhan wrote: “LoP Shri Rahul Gandhi and INC India (Indian National Congress) continue to shamelessly exploit students as political tools to manufacture disruption during the Monsoon Session of Parliament.”
He added that LoP Rahul Gandhi and INC India chose to stage a dharna outside the Prime Minister’s residence, causing inconvenience to the public and disregarding established security protocols.
The Minister further claimed that even after the 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,” Pradhan remarked.
He continued that for Rahul Gandhi, the issue was not about students but about manufacturing confrontation after every genuine avenue for discussion had been opened. “Our Government remains 100 per cent committed to discussing NEET and addressing every genuine concern of our youth on the floor of the House,” he said.
The Education Minister concluded his post by saying that 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 claimed.
(IANS)
