New Delhi : Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday accused Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and the Congress of using students as a political tool. Pradhan alleged that instead of helping resolve concerns surrounding the NEET paper leak controversy, the Congress was attempting to disrupt the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament.
“LoP Shri Rahul Gandhi and INC continue to shamelessly exploit students as political tools to manufacture disruption during the Monsoon Session of Parliament,” Pradhan wrote. His remarks came hours after Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several Congress leaders protested outside the Prime Minister’s residence against the alleged police action on students during the CJP demonstration on July 20.
Pradhan maintained that although the government had assured Parliament was ready for a discussion on the NEET controversy, the Congress preferred “political spectacle over democratic debate. Reaffirming the Centre’s stand, Pradhan said the government remained committed to addressing students’ concerns through parliamentary discussion. “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,” he said.
Meanwhile, government sources criticised the Congress protest outside the Prime Minister’s official residence, describing it as a security concern and accusing the Opposition of setting a “wrong and dangerous precedent. According to the sources, demonstrations outside the residences of political leaders are not a feature of mature democracies and could compromise security arrangements.
The sources also warned against normalising protests outside the homes of political leaders and pointed to recent political unrest in neighbouring countries where demonstrations escalated around official residences. The government’s response followed a march by Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and several Opposition leaders towards Lok Kalyan Marg to protest the police action during the CJP’s July 20 demonstration.
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