PM Speaks Of Forgiving Students; Govt Owes Them Justice, Apology: Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks of "forgiving" students, but it is the government that owes the students truth, justice and an apology. Gandhi made the remarks in an Instagram post as he shared a video of his interaction with the families of Gopika, Roshini and Vetri Anandan, who committed suicide following the NEET paper leak and cancellation, during his visit to Tamil Nadu on Saturday.

The leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said, "During my visit to Tamil Nadu, I met the families of Gopika, Roshini and Vetri Anandan, three young medical aspirants whose lives were lost following the NEET paper leak and the cancellation of the examination. Each family was left with the same painful question: why should honest, hardworking students pay the price for a dishonest system?"

A leaked paper led to a cancelled examination, a forced NEET re-exam and unbearable pressure on young minds, Gandhi said.

Behind every statistic is a child with a dream and a family now living with an irreplaceable loss, he said.

"I listened to their pain. Our fight is for an education system where hard work is respected, examinations are fair and no student is pushed to the edge because institutions failed them," the former Congress chief said.

"The Prime Minister speaks of 'forgiving' students. After listening to these parents, my conviction is even stronger: India's students need no forgiveness. The government owes them truth, justice and an apology," Gandhi asserted.

In the video, Gandhi is seen interacting with the families of the students who committed suicide.

In Mamallapuram, interacting with the relatives of those who took the extreme step vis-a-vis NEET, Gandhi said, "Nothing is more painful than seeing a parent grieve their child.

"Behind every young life lost is a family carrying pain that will never leave them and serious questions about a broken education system. Leaked papers. Cancelled exams. Years of preparation destroyed overnight. Our students are told to work honestly in a system that is not honest with them.

"The tears of parents who have lost their children, their wailing; there is no greater sorrow than this. This grief will live with them forever and along with it remain many questions about this broken and corrupt education system," he had said in a post on X.

Referring to paper leaks and cancelled exams, he said, "Prime Minister has the audacity to talk about forgiving the students."

"Has he even met a single grieving family who has lost their child, or those whose entire savings, life, time and dreams have been snatched away by paper leaks? The answer is no! India's students do not need the Prime Minister's forgiveness; Modi ji should apologise to them," the Congress leader said.

In a video message on Friday, Modi said he and his late mother were subjected to abusive language at Jantar Mantar during the protests over alleged NEET irregularities. He asserted that dragging such "misguided children" to court would not solve the problem and hence, he wanted to forgive them.