Former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan received a warm welcome from NDA leaders in Parliament on Monday, with BJP MPs putting up a show of solidarity two days after his resignation amid nationwide protests over the NEET paper leak issue.
BJP MPs assembled near the Makar Dwar entrance ahead of Pradhan's arrival. As he entered the Parliament complex, colleagues escorted him inside, greeted him and presented him with a ceremonial cap in a symbolic gesture of support. The MPs also raised 'Dharmendra Pradhan zindabad' slogans.
Meanwhile, the Congress slammed the BJP after party MPs for felicitating Pradhan in the Parliament House complex, calling the gesture "utterly shameful" and a "grave insult" to the country's youth.
The Congress alleged that honouring him so soon after his resignation sent a wrong message to students demanding accountability over the examination crisis.
Simultaneously, opposition MPs raised slogans like "Chor Chor, Paper Chor" and hit out strongly at the ruling party for felicitating Pradhan.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the BJP MPs were welcoming Pradhan as if he had achieved some great feat.
"The country has already seen how, instead of apologising for the paper leak in his resignation, Pradhan accused the students themselves of being misled, and after that, all central ministers praised him on social media. We believe that this entire episode is utterly shameful and a grave insult to the country's youth," Ramesh said in his post in Hindi.
He further said, "The BJP should make it clear whether, despite the paper leaks, the crumbling education system, the lathi charges on students, and the firing of pellet guns, Pradhan's work was commendable? If not, then what is this honour for? And if yes, then does the BJP want to send this very message to the country's youth and students?"
The country demands answers, the Congress leader said.
Opposition MPs led by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also staged a protest in the Parliament complex over the alleged use of excessive force against students during demonstrations over the NEET paper leak.
(With inputs from PTI)