The Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, has thrown a new challenge into the political storm in the national capital by saying that students were not being used as political tools for the opposition parties’ political ends. Responding to the Congress protest outside PM Modi’s residence and the wider CJP agitation against the NEET paper leak, Pradhan strongly took on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, stating that they were using concerns of students for their political agenda rather than the issues themselves.
Pradhan’s remarks were made just hours after Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Mallikarjun Kharge had been arrested by Delhi Police in their dharana protest demanding the resignation of Modi for allegedly committing police brutality against CJP protesters. His statements came in the wake of the optics of the last few days, when Rahul Gandhi protested near the PM’s home after the Delhi Police registered charges against CJP for his ‘chalo sansad’ protest in Parliament. The police action resulted in the injuries of several protesters, mostly students who had criticized the leaking of the NEET. The police action saw many protesters, mostly students who had been protesting against the NEET paper leak, getting injured, leading to an outcry from opposition leaders. Congress’s opposition outside the residence of PM Modi was aimed at the students, while Pradhan’s response was that the party had been silent on the students’ movement till it was politically convenient to do so.
The argument dovetails with the general rhetoric of the BJP, which has accused Congress and AAP of sidelining the CJP’s month-long protest at Jantar Mantar for their own publicity instead of working for the cause of students who have been affected by the alleged paper leak.
Pradhan’s statements were made at a time when the AAP-Congress conflict was already in a boil-over stage, with AAP leaders such as Sanjay Singh accusing Congress of remaining mute during most of the protest by the CJP, and only becoming vocal when the matter became a national issue. AAP said Rahul Gandhi’s dharna outside the PM’s residence was conducted with an “unusual ease” as compared to the protest by the CJP, which was blocked by the Delhi Police a fact AAP leaders had pointed out in suggesting that there was “tacit coordination” between Congress and the BJP. Congress, too, brushed off AAP’s objections, with some of its leaders saying that the party had a double standard considering its own beginnings as a student and civil-society anti-corruption movement.
Dharmendra Pradhan’s assurance that students are not “political tools” points to the government’s overall narrative that the opposition’s protest over the NEET paper leak was opportunistic. Pradhan’s comments could further polarize the Congress-AAP feud on who is better representing the cause of aggrieved students, as the CJP protest at Jantar Mantar enters its second month, and both parties continue to blame each other for the protests on the streets.
The minister’s pushback also feeds into a familiar pattern seen through past confrontations between him and Rahul Gandhi over education policy, reservation issues, and exam-related controversies, where both sides have repeatedly accused each other of misrepresenting facts for political gain. For now, the NEET paper leak issue remains unresolved, the Rahul Gandhi protest outside the PM’s residence continues to reverberate through India’s political discourse, and the fight over who genuinely speaks for India’s students shows no sign of ending soon, with the Centre, Congress, and AAP all staking competing claims to the moral high ground.
My name is Santosh Rana, and I am the Founder and Content Writer at Taza News, where I actively cover Education, Board Exam Results, Admit Cards, Government Jobs, Technology, and Breaking News updates. As the founder of the platform, I am committed to building a trusted digital news source that delivers accurate, timely, and reader-friendly information to audiences across India.
