Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday mounted a sharp attack on the Centre in the Lok Sabha during a discussion on the students’ protest held in the national capital last week, triggering
strong objections from the ruling NDA.
Opening his speech during the debate on The Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill-2026, the Congress leader took an indirect swipe at the BJP and its supporters by describing “three categories of people” — students, those who think they know everything and pretend to be God, and “andhbhakts” (blind believers) who believe the second category is God.
His comments immediately sparked protests from the ruling benches. Amid the disruptions, Rahul Gandhi alleged that he was being prevented from speaking. He further said that former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who resigned from the post, was only a symbol and claimed that the Education Ministry was actually being run by the RSS.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh objected to the remarks, with both leaders reminding the Leader of the Opposition to avoid unparliamentary language and continue his speech.
Resuming his address, the Congress leader again targeted the RSS, alleging that it had significant influence over the country’s education system and curriculum. “The soul of the system has been captured by the RSS. Dharmendra Pradhan never ran the Education Ministry. The man and organisation that run the Ministry is called the RSS,” he said.
He also alleged that vice-chancellors across universities in the country were affiliated with the RSS.
As protests continued, Rahul Gandhi shifted his criticism to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, claiming that he was absent from the Lok Sabha because he was “scared”. He also made certain allegations against the Home Minister, which were strongly rejected by the ruling side.
The BJP accused the Congress leader of making a “bundle of lies”, alleging that he had “misused” the House by levelling “baseless” charges, and demanded an apology. Speaker Om Birla also asked Rahul Gandhi to provide proof in support of his allegations.
Objecting to the comments, Rijiju said, “On what basis have you said this? This is highly objectionable. You should apologise”.
The repeated uproar led to the House being adjourned twice. Frequent protests from the Treasury benches prevented Rahul Gandhi from completing his speech, while a significant portion of his remarks was later expunged from the House records.
