Rahul Gandhi accuses RSS of capturing education system, says students are being turned into ‘Andhabhakts’

Rahul Gandhi accused the RSS of controlling India's education system and influencing educational institutions, alleging that students were being discouraged from independent thinking. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, he claimed the organisation wanted young people to become "Andhabhakts" instead of critical thinkers

New Delhi: Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of “capturing” the education system, terming it the “real enemy” of the students and wanting them to be “Andhabhakts (blind adherents)”.

Speaking during the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, in the House, Gandhi alleged that the education system had become increasingly privatised and claimed that the RSS exercised significant influence over educational institutions and policymaking.

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“Our (education) system is terrible, it’s cruel; everything is being privatised… It is an extortion system, it is a brutal, terrible system… It’s a system that has been captured; the soul of the system has been captured by the RSS… The Defence Minister had said that our ministers do not resign… Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation is just superficial because it was not Pradhan who used to run the Ministry; the man and organisation that runs the Education Ministry is called the RSS, and the man who runs it is the OSD sitting in the Minister’s office,” he said.

The Congress leader further alleged that the RSS was attempting to impose what he described as a distorted version of history on students, instead of allowing them to think independently and pursue their own interests.

“What the students are irritated about is that they are not allowed to be students in India. They are not allowed to follow their passion, say what they want or ask the questions; but they have to buy this nonsensical history that the RSS fantasises. They have to buy this structure,” he said.

Gandhi also claimed that the leadership of major educational institutions across the country was influenced by the RSS, alleging that the organisation had become the principal force shaping the education system.

“Every single university in India today, and the students should know this, has the Vice Chancellor from the RSS. Dharmendra Pradhan is the symbol; your real enemy is the RSS; they are not letting you be students, they want you to be ‘Andhabhakts’,” he added.

Continuing his criticism, the Leader of Opposition said the ongoing student movement reflected a broader rejection of what he described as attempts to dictate the aspirations and future of young people.

“This is the reaction from the soul of India that is saying that ‘under no circumstances are we going to become your ‘Andhabhakts’, under no circumstances are you going to define our future, and under no circumstances are we going to listen. The parents of these children did not have the courage to face the BJP or the RSS. Yet, these children, brave, imaginative and powerful, stood there and faced whatever they could throw at you,” Gandhi added.