Students are not terrorists: Rahul Gandhi targets education minister

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday criticised Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over his alleged remarks against protesting students, demanding an apology and resignation. Gandhi accused the BJP of branding critics and dissenters with derogatory labels and reiterated his call for affordable, quality education and fair examinations for students

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday hit out at Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for his “terrorist” remark against protesting students, saying he must immediately apologise to crores of young people in this country and resign for his “failures”. The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said labelling anyone who questions the government as a “traitor” is the BJP’s politics.

In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, “Intoxicated by the arrogance of power, the Modi government has reached a point where the Education Minister labels students demanding their rights, fair examinations, and a secure future as ‘terrorists’.” “Just think about it: the person whose failures led to so many paper leaks, under whose watch 20 students lost their lives, and who plunged the futures of crores of young people into darkness-is today branding the aggrieved students and those raising their voices for them as ‘terrorists’,” the former Congress chief said.

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He said this was nothing new and the BJP people had also called the farmers who feed the nation “andolanjeevi” and “parasites.” “They labelled those who asked questions as ‘anti-nationals’. And now, they call the youth ‘terrorists’. Labelling anyone who questions the government as a traitor-that is their politics,” Gandhi said.

“Dharmendra Pradhan ji, apologize immediately to the crores of young people in this country and resign for your failures,” he said. “As for me-attack me all you want. I said it in Kota, and I say it again: today, this education system has merely become an extortion racket. I will not let it remain this way. I will never stop raising the demand that every child receives affordable, quality education and fair examinations,” Gandhi said.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke had also attacked Pradhan over his alleged remark calling the group a “B team of terrorists”. Dipke had also shared a video clip on X showing Pradhan making the alleged remarks about the students’ protest.

Dipke said, “Imagine what Pradhan said. While we are demanding justice for students who committed suicide, he said CJP is a B team of terrorists. The education minister is calling the youth of this country terrorists.”