Cong Using Students as Tools: Pradhan's First Reaction to Protest
22 July 2026 6:28 AM IST22 July 2026 6:28 AM IST
Pradhan also slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for staging a dharna outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan (PTI)
New Delhi: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan asserted on Tuesday that the government is committed to discussing issues related to the NEET and addressing every genuine concern of youngsters on the floor of Parliament. Pradhan also slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for staging a dharna outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence and accused him of exploiting students as "political tools" to "manufacture" disruption during the Monsoon session of Parliament.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and several other senior leaders sat on a dharna outside the prime minister's residence here and demanded Pradhan's resignation over the police action against students protesting on the NEET paper-leak issue.
"LoP Shri @RahulGandhi and @INCIndia 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," Pradhan said in a post on X.
"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 added.
The education minister, who is at the centre of the controversy, said the students of India deserve far better than being treated as "props in a political campaign".
"Our government remains 100 pc 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," Pradhan said.
Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh, along with Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, met Gandhi and urged him to end his sit-in, but the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha refused to oblige.
Singh said he told Gandhi that the government is ready to discuss all issues relating to the NEET and the movement associated with it in Parliament, as sought by him, but the Congress leader "backtracked" and demanded that Pradhan must also resign.
The opposition leaders were later forcibly removed from the site and detained by police.
( Source : PTI )
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