Rahul Gandhi Demands Education Minister's Resignation Over NEET Paper Leak Controversy

A day after leading an Opposition protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘s residence over the alleged NEET paper leak and the police action against student protesters , Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched a fresh attack on the Centre. At a press conference in New Delhi, he demanded Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, sought an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, described India’s education system as “rigged”, and pledged Congress’s support for student protests. Here are the five key takeaways from his press conference: Beginning the press conference by showing videos of students allegedly being beaten during Monday’s protest in Delhi, Gandhi questioned why peaceful demonstrators were met with force. “What exactly have these students done? Thousands of them are protesting peacefully. They are only asking for what this country owes them — a fair education system,” he said. He said children and young aspirants were already under immense stress because of repeated examination controversies, including paper leaks, and accused the government of failing to address their concerns. Gandhi also dismissed questions about the treatment he received during Monday’s protest , insisting that the focus should remain on students. “How I was treated yesterday, I don’t care about it. The focus has to be on students and how they were treated. Do whatever you want to me. Do it five times against me. I don’t mind it,” he said. He also claimed that police personnel escorting him privately expressed sympathy with the students. “The cops who were taking me away yesterday were whispering in my ear that I should remove this government. Even policemen are not happy with what is happening. They can see their children in this.” Accusing the government of changing the narrative, he said there were “two forces” at work — one trying to keep the focus on students’ issues and another attempting to distract from them. Describing the examination crisis as a national issue, Gandhi alleged that India’s education system had become “rigged”. He claimed that 152 examination paper leaks had taken place over the past decade, affecting nearly 7.5 crore students and their families, while alleging that there had been “zero convictions” in connection with such cases. “It is not just that the system is rigged. It is that it is unaffordable,” he said. Highlighting the financial burden on families, Gandhi claimed that while the Union government’s education budget stood at around Rs 1.4 lakh crore, families collectively spent nearly Rs 1.32 lakh crore on the NEET examination alone, arguing that the two figures were almost comparable. He further alleged that young people faced shrinking opportunities even after clearing examinations because manufacturing had weakened, entrepreneurship had become difficult and corporate jobs were increasingly being affected by artificial intelligence. Backing the demands raised by student organisations, Gandhi called for Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, accusing him of failing to run the education system. “The students are demanding the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan. He has failed as Education Minister. He is incapable of running this system,” Gandhi said. Explaining why the Opposition marched towards the Prime Minister’s residence on Monday, Gandhi said Parliament had failed to take up the issue despite repeated requests. “We first went to the Speaker respectfully and demanded a discussion. He said he would ask the government. No discussion was allowed. The issue was ignored.” Calling Pradhan a “symbol” of the students’ anger, Gandhi said, “The symbol has to be removed.” He also demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologise to students over the repeated examination controversies. Gandhi alleged that the government was trying to suppress the controversy instead of discussing it in Parliament. “There are two sides. The government can’t decide alone how the discussion will be held. The government wants to put this issue under the carpet,” he said. He said the Opposition wanted meaningful reforms in the examination system, including changes to the testing process and a review of the fees being charged to students. According to Gandhi, the Congress was in “100 per cent agreement” with the demands being raised by students. Gandhi asserted that the Congress and the broader Opposition would continue supporting student movements across the country. “Whatever andolan (protest) is taking place on this issue anywhere, the Congress and the Opposition will support it,” he said.