NEW DELHI: Signalling that the Opposition’s fight over the NEET-UG paper leak is far from over, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the alleged use of force against protesting students would be raised as a major issue in Parliament, despite Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stepping down following nationwide protests.
Addressing a press conference, Gandhi held Union Home Minister Amit Shah directly responsible for the violence against students and said the Opposition would not accept security forces using lethal weapons against them.
“We hold Home Minister Amit Shah directly responsible for the violence that has taken place against our students.
He authorised the shooting of our students and the use of lethal weapons and pellet guns. We will not accept our own forces shooting the future of India. This will be a major issue in Parliament,” Gandhi said. He also backed the students’ demand for an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and called for concrete measures to overhaul the education system. Gandhi said Pradhan’s resignation should not be seen as the end of the crisis, saying that the protests manifested deeper problems in education as well as employment.
“What has happened is one step in a much deeper problem. The government needs to start listening to the people of India. This is a warning from the students and the Opposition that India cannot be run like a personal fiefdom,” he said.
With the government set to introduce a Bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday proposing tougher punishment for paper leaks and other malpractices in public examinations, Gandhi said the INDIA bloc would meet and take a collective decision on whether to support the legislation. “The decision will be based on the consensus of the Opposition parties,” he said.
Several Opposition parties including the AAP, Samajwadi Party (SP), CPI(M) and the TMC welcomed Pradhan’s resignation but maintained that it was only the beginning of a wider struggle.
