India
oi-Gaurav Sharma
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday intensified the Opposition’s attack on the Centre over the NEET-UG paper leak controversy, claiming the government was exploring a portfolio change for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan instead of removing him from the Union Council of Ministers.
Speaking outside 10 Janpath, Gandhi said student groups protesting in Delhi would not accept any move that merely shifts Pradhan to another ministry. His remarks came as students at Jantar Mantar continued their agitation, demanding accountability for alleged irregularities in the medical entrance examination and action over police response to protests.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi intensified the attack on the Centre regarding the NEET-UG controversy, demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s dismissal and rejecting the idea of a portfolio change, stating students’ demands are non-negotiable.
The pressure on the government has grown as the controversy has moved beyond an examination dispute and become a wider political issue. For lakhs of aspirants and their families, NEET-UG is tied directly to access to medical education, public trust in competitive exams and the credibility of institutions that conduct them.
Rahul Gandhi says students’ demands are non-negotiable
Gandhi said protesting students had three demands and described them as “not negotiable”. The most important among them, he said, was the removal of Pradhan from the education ministry and from responsibility for the examination system at the Centre.
“The first demand is that the Education Minister, who is corrupt, incompetent, and misaligned, has to be sacked,” Gandhi said, while standing with student leaders. He claimed there was “some talk” within Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet about moving Pradhan to another portfolio rather than sacking him.
Gandhi rejected that possibility, saying such a move would not address the anger among students. “This is not acceptable to the students of India. It is not acceptable to anybody,” he said. He also described Pradhan as “a symbol of corruption” and accused the government of damaging the future of students.
“There is going to be no conversation about Mr Dharmendra Pradhan being moved here, moved there… Dharmendra Pradhan has to be sacked,” Gandhi said. The Congress leader also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should apologise to students over the handling of the examination controversy.
