Don't insult students' intelligence with pathetic video: Rahul Gandhi slams PM

Congress chief and the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, also dared PM Narendra Modi to dismiss Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan before setting foot in Parliament again.

In Short

• Rahul Gandhi calls for punishment over police action on students
• He also says PM Modi should apologise to the protesting students
• Kharge hits out at PM for 'one-sided Mann ki Baat' outside Parliament

Opposition leaders on Friday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, asking him to not insult the intelligence of students with his "pathetic midnight video."

He also said that PM Modi should apologise to students for the police action on protesters during Cockroach Janta Party's protest in New Delhi.

"Mr Modi, our students are demanding Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation. Don't insult their intelligence with this pathetic midnight video. 1. Sack Pradhan. 2. Punish those who beat students. 3. Apologise," he said in a post on X.

Moreover, Congress chief and the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, also dared PM Modi to dismiss Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan before setting foot in Parliament again.

"When Parliament is in session, the Prime Minister has to give a Statement on the floor of Parliament, not make a one-sided "Mann Ki Baat" outside Parliament by recording a video late at night!!"

"Before coming to Parliament today, come after dismissing Dharmendra Pradhan. First, apologize to the students and take strict action against those who ordered the use of lathis, batons, and Pellet Guns to suppress the students’ voices," Kharge said in the X post.

Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the "desperate and hassled-looking" PM finally broke his silence on paper leaks with his video message.

He asserted that the Prime Minister's "lack of commitment to accountability" was evident from his "failure to even mention the student protests or the brutality unleashed on them."

"The Mantri Pradhan deliberately refused to use the word leak in his press conference and the Education Ministry officially denied that a paper leak occurred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education," Ramesh said, referring to Dharmendra Pradhan.

PM ANNOUNCES BILL AGAINST PAPER LEAKS

PM Modi announced on Thursday night that a bill containing provisions for strong action against paper leaks will be introduced in Parliament next week during the ongoing Monsoon Session.

He also said the contours of the proposed legislation will be discussed at a meeting of the Union Cabinet on Friday, where the bill will be finalised.

PM Modi's video message came more than an hour before activist Sonam Wangchuk broke his prolonged hunger strike at the Medanta Hospital in Gurugram in the presence of Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh.

The 59-year-old activist had been on a fast for 26 days. The indefinite hunger strike was part of the CJP's broader agitation to demand Pradhan's resignation and reforms in the education system.

- Ends
(With inputs from PTI)