After a month of nationwide protests, after the reported deaths of 21 NEET aspirants by suicide, after 23 days of Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike, after a massive youth-led march ended in alleged lathi-charge and injured students, and after the Congress staged a protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has finally broken his silence on the NEET-UG agitation that has gripped the country.
On Tuesday, Dharmendra Pradhan launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the ongoing protests linked to the alleged NEET paper leak controversy.
In his first public reaction after the police action during the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP) ‘Chalo Sansad’ march, Pradhan accused the Congress of using students for political gains instead of seeking solutions.
One must know that his remarks came hours after Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Pawan Khera, DK Shivakumar and also Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav were detained by Delhi Police from the protest site – outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence.
‘Congress Is Exploiting Students’: Pradhan
Posting his response on X, Pradhan Said that the leader of Opposition – Rahul Gandhi and the Congress continue to shamelessly exploit students as political tools to manufacture disruption during the Monsoon Session of Parliament. They chose to stage a dharna outside the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s residence , causing inconvenience to the public and disregarding established security protocols.”
He slammed the Congress protest stating, “Even after 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. For Rahul Gandhi, this is not about students. This is about manufacturing confrontation after every genuine avenue for discussion has been opened.”
He said that the BJP government is fully committed to discuss NEET and other genuine issues of our youth. But it is the Congress who chose political headlines over real solutions.
“Our Government remains 100% committed to discussing NEET and addressing every genuine concern of our youth on the floor of the House. 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 said.
According to Pradhan, the Congress was more interested in creating political headlines than finding solutions to the concerns raised by students.
Opposition Leaders Detained During Protest
On the eve of July 21, the protesting political leader were detained Visuals from the protest showed security personnel escorting Rahul Gandhi away from the protest site, while Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was also taken into custody along with other opposition leaders.