New Delhi: Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday defended young protesters and said they “do not need to apologise
to anyone” for raising concerns about India’s education system.
Gandhi spoke to reporters outside 10 Janpath in New Delhi as Parliament faced repeated disruptions. Both Houses have witnessed several adjournments amid sustained protests by Opposition MPs.
The Congress leader said the youngsters had defended the Constitution, the idea of India and the country’s future through their actions.
System needs reform
Gandhi described the education system as “a flawed system, a collapsing system, a useless system” and said demanding reforms did not amount to wrongdoing.
“If anything, the system needs to be changed. It needs to be corrected. And that is all they were asking for,” he said.
The Congress MP argued that the young protesters had only sought changes to a system that had failed to address their concerns.
Rahul alleges assault
Gandhi said the students had protested peacefully and accused the authorities of using excessive force against them.
“They were not being violent. They were not being aggressive. They were not being nasty. They were beaten, they were assaulted, and they were threatened,” Gandhi alleged.
He also condemned the alleged pressure on the students to make public apologies. Gandhi called the exercise “complete nonsense” and said he did not accept such apologies.
“First forcing them to apologise, sending goons to their homes, sending goons into women’s homes, forcibly making them apologise, making a 15-year-old girl apologise, and then accepting that apology—that is complete nonsense. We do not accept it,” Gandhi said.
Ria Ahir speaks
Student activist Ria Ahir, who accompanied Gandhi, asked the media to change its description of her confrontation with Mumbai Police during the protests.
“People say I am the girl who went viral for stopping the Mumbai Police. But I want to tell the media that I am the girl who stopped 20 children from being unlawfully detained,” she said.
Ahir urged the media to “change your narrative” and “change your perspective.” She also alleged that she had faced severe harassment after the incident.
“Because of what I did, I have been subjected to immense harassment. I won’t call it trolling because this is not trolling—it is a crime,” she said.
