Pradhan’s resignation, PM’s apology ‘non-negotiable’ demands, says Rahul

New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday sought the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and asked that the policemen who assaulted students in the national Capital on Monday be held to account, terming these “non-negotiable” demands to resolve the ongoing crisis on the streets and in Parliament

New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday sought the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and asked that the policemen who assaulted students in the national Capital on Monday be held to account, terming these “non-negotiable” demands to resolve the ongoing crisis on the streets and in Parliament.

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In a press conference on Wednesday, Gandhi, who held an unprecedented protest outside the PM’s residence on Tuesday, claimed that since the BJP-led NDA came to power in 2014, there have been 152 paper leaks that have affected 75 million students. He also claimed that the protests have caused panic in the government.

The protest, launched by the Cockroach Janta Party, after the NEET (medical admissions exam) paper leak, gathered momentum with activist Sonam Wangchuk launching an indefinite fast, and snowballed into a full-fledged movement over the weekend after the government moved Wangchuk to a hospital, and came down hard on a protest march to Parliament on Monday.

To be sure, some of the protestors indulged in vandalism, and targeted media- and police personnel, but the police and Rapid Action Force personnel used lathis, tear gas, and electric batons to control the crowd. Several policemen, RAF personnel, and students were injured.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi spoke on the NEET fiasco for the first time in a meeting with NDA partners according to parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju. The PM said he was with the students and that the government would act against those responsible for the leak. A retest has since been conducted and results announced.

Opposition parties have joined the protests.

During the press conference, Gandhi said it was only fair for the students to have demands. “It is a legitimate demand that Dharmendra Pradhan should resign. He has shown the nation and the world that he can’t run an education system”

Gandhi added: “ He is also incompetent and probably collusive in this drama. We know his background. We know how clean he is. This man has to go.”

Gandhi also spoke on the police crackdown.

“Everyone who assaulted the students must be held accountable and the PM should apologise.”

Gandhi’s position may complicate ongoing negotiations between the government and Opposition floor managers over how to debate the issue in Parliament. HT learns that some opposition parties were keen to start the discussion without any pre-conditions.

“How the discussion will happen, it can’t be decided by the government alone. We will decide that. Pradhan must go and PM should apologise. These are the first steps. Then we want to see the changes made in the system,” Gandhi said.

On Monday, the 23-day-old sit-in hunger strike at Jantar Mantar snowballed into the largest public protest in Modi’s third term, as tens of thousands of people marched to Parliament, braving police batons, tear gas and scores of barricades. The brutal crackdown on the students by the police has turned into another major controversy, with the Opposition demanding action against the errant officers.

Gandhi himself sat in a major protest outside the PM’s residence before police dragged him away and detained him at the Chhatrasal stadium in North Delhi. Some other lawmakers including his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were detained at the Mandir Marg police station.

During the press conference, Gandhi claimed that the cops who dragged him away from the protest venue at a busy intersection near the PM’s residence at Lok Kalyan Marg, asked him to remove the government.

“One of them was from Rajasthan. Another one belonged to Haryana. They whispered to me, “Inko Hataiye” (remove this government). Sensible people don’t support this. They can see their children in this. We are going to continue supporting this. The deeper problem is with the government. The fundamental issue is (of) jobs and we are heading into a storm. When the Iran war impact will be felt you will see the pain.”

The former Congress chief justified protesting outside the PM’s house, a high security zone and said, “We went to the PM’s house because if Indian students are on the roads, the Opposition should also hit the road. Our natural space is Parliament. We met the Speaker and urged him for a debate. He said, I will have to ask the government.”

“We are fully supporting the students. My job is to express the will of the people of India. Whether it’s students or farmers, I am supposed to become the expression of the voice of the people and bring the attention to where pain in being felt. It is an honour for me to stand with my people,” he said, claiming it is irrelevant how he was treated by the police. “The focus should remain on the children.”

Gandhi dismissed minister Jitendra Singh’s claims that he (Gandhi) had agreed to certain terms and then changed his position, “Jitendra Singh is an irrelevant part of this discussion. We have clear demands. Jitendra Singh can see whatever fantasies he wants to see!”

Gandhi, who once handled the party’s student and youth wings, presented the big picture that he claimed was bothering students.During the Modi-era, 152 paper leaks have affected 75 million students, he alleged. “Every month, lakhs of students are told, (despite) all the stress you have gone through you have to again sit in the exam. And (there has been) zero conviction. A group of people are destroying education system and there are zero convictions.”

“For one (competitive) exam, the families of all the students spend ₹1.32 lakh crore. The education budge stands at ₹1. 4 lakh crore. This is pure theft. After you steal from them, there is a paper leak. Even after you have an education, you are told that the door to livelihoods and jobs is closed,” Gandhi said.