Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday broke his silence on the ongoing protests and said that the government remains committed to discussing
issues related to the NEET examination in Parliament, while accusing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of using students as "political tools" after the Opposition's protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence. The remarks came after Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and several senior party leaders staged a sit-in on Tuesday, demanding Pradhan's resignation over the police action against students protesting over the alleged NEET paper leak. In a post on X, Pradhan said: "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," he added.
The Minister said the government had already expressed its willingness to hold a detailed discussion on the issue in Parliament.
"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 said.
Pradhan said students should not be 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," he added. "We owe our students more than outrage. We owe them answers, reforms and accountability. That is exactly what our government remains committed to delivering."
Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh and Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan had met Gandhi at the protest site and urged him to end the sit-in.
According to Singh, he informed the Congress leader that the government was prepared to discuss all issues relating to NEET and the associated protests in Parliament. Singh said Gandhi declined the offer and instead insisted that Pradhan resign.
Police later removed the opposition leaders from the protest site and detained them.
With inputs from PTI
