Next agitation to be 10 times bigger: Rahul's warning to BJP-RSS

New Delhi : Following the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan amid nationwide student protests over the NEET paper leak,

Rahul Gandhi has lauded the youth's victory, calling it a crucial step towards education reform and demanding accountability from the government, including an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Protestors celebrate Dharmendra Pradhan's exit : Rahul Gandhi hailed Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation as a significant victory for students and a crucial symbolic step towards rebuilding India's education system.

Gandhi asserted that the students' agitation against paper leaks serves as a warning to the BJP-RSS regime that the government is not its 'personal fiefdom'.

He held Home Minister Amit Shah directly responsible for the violence against protesting students, including the use of pellet guns, and vowed to raise the issue in Parliament.

Gandhi called for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apologise to the students for the 'atrocities' committed during the agitation and for accountability to be fixed for all involved in the violence.

The Congress leader encouraged other sections of society, including farmers and labourers, to show courage and stand up against the government, echoing the students' resistance.
 
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the students' agitation against paper leaks has given a warning to the Bharatiya Janata Party-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh regime that it cannot run the government as its personal fiefdom and if they did, they would face 10 times the scale of this stir.

Gandhi said Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was a 'symbol of corruption' and 'it is good that he is gone'.

Pradhan resigned on Saturday amid mounting pressure due to the protests over the NEET paper leak controversy.

He described the students' protest as a fight between 'the past' represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS, and the future of India.

Gandhi said he was confident that 'the future of India will defeat the past' and called on other groups to show courage and stand up, asserting that it was time to remove the government.

Calls for PM's Apology and Accountability : He also urged the prime minister to apologise to the students out of respect for the future of the country and for the 'atrocities' committed on them during the agitation.

In a video message posted on X after Pradhan's resignation, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha said, "Daro mat (don't be afraid). Let's get rid of this regime that is attacking India, destroying our Constitution, capturing all our institutions."

Gandhi said his resignation is a huge step towards rebuilding the education system. "It's a symbolic step because he was a symbol, but it is still a big step," he said.

Addressing the media outside Sonia Gandhi's 10, Janpath residence soon after Pradhan resigned, Gandhi said his party held Home Minister Amit Shah directly responsible for the violence against students, and for authorising the use of lethal weapons like pellet guns against them.

Gandhi said the Congress would not accept security forces shooting students and that it will be made a major issue in Parliament.

Critique of RSS and Education System : Accusing the RSS of capturing India's education system and making it hollow like termites, he said the organisation 'has to go'.

Asked if the Congress would support the bill proposing stringent punishment for paper leaks that the government intends to bring in Parliament, Gandhi said the Congress alone would not be able to take a call on this as it would be a decision based on opposition consensus.

"Congress party has a central principle. We will decide this during a meeting of opposition parties and a decision will be based on opposition consensus. In Parliament, that is our discipline and that is our way of functioning," he noted.

Calling Pradhan's resignation a major step towards revamping the country's education system, Gandhi congratulated the youth and students who stood firm on the streets to protect democracy, the Constitution and their future.

"We are here to protect the students of India, to protect the future of India. As I said, this is a fight between the past, which is Narendra Modi and the RSS, and the future of India. And we are very confident that the future of India will defeat the past," Gandhi said.

"First of all, it is a victory of our students who are the future of India," he said, lauding the students for holding their ground against the government.

"Pradhan is a symbol of corruption, destruction of the education system, incompetence. He had to go. It is good that he has gone.

"But now, concrete steps to change the education system will have to be taken by the government. RSS' capture of India's education system has to go. The RSS had worked like a termite with our education system and has made it hollow," he alleged.

"Serious steps would have to be taken, but I don't think they can take them. But let's see," Gandhi said, urging the government to reform the education system.

Allegations Against Home Minister Amit Shah : Targeting the Union home minister, Gandhi said, "We hold Mr Amit Shah directly responsible for the violence that has taken place against our students. He authorised the shooting of our students, he authorised the use of lethal weapons, pellet guns on our students."

Noting that this is a fundamental issue for them, he said, "We would not accept our own forces shooting the future of India. That is going to be a major issue in Parliament."

In a post on X, he said the students have achieved a very significant victory as he recalled how they faced deadly attacks with someone's hand, leg or rib being broken and pellet guns like deadly weapons were used.

'These are all directly the responsibility of Home Minister Amit Shah... Mr Amit Shah, you will have to answer for this,' he said.

Gandhi said the demand is clear: "From the organisers of this attack to the implementers, accountability must be fixed for everyone, and such action must be taken against them that the students can see. Only then will there be justice."

Broader Implications and Call to Action : The Congress leader claimed that India's education system, which was once acknowledged as good across the world, is being 'attacked, captured and privatised'.

"This was a reaction to that, against the unemployment and today's situation in the country," he said.

The deeper reason the protest happened is that the 'Indian job creation system, education system and the institutional system' have been destroyed and ceased to exist, Gandhi said.

The country, he said, is facing a time of serious economic crisis and the government should be aware what has happened here is one step in a 'very deep problem'.

"This is students' and opposition's warning to the government that you cannot run India the way you have been running. This is not your personal fiefdom. This is not something that belongs to you. It belongs to the people of India," Gandhi asserted.

"If you carry on down this path, you will see that what has happened right now will be 10 times this scale. That is the message," Gandhi warned.

He said Pradhan's resignation is also a signal to oppressed groups like farmers, labourers and the poor to show courage and stand up, saying it is time to remove the government.

'True courage lies in standing firm in a constitutional manner for one's dignity... The time has come to remove this government. Daro mat,' Gandhi posted on X.

He said two demands are still pending: action against all people who committed 'atrocities' against the students protesting against paper leaks and an apology from PM Modi to the students.

Earlier, after holding a meeting with student representatives on the protests, Gandhi said the discussion centred around how the RSS has captured the education system.

Referring to a young woman whose leg was injured in the lathicharge and who was present during the earlier briefing, he said, "Organisers and implementers of all this must be punished."

"The leader of the entire machinery has been doing this. Modi has to apologise for what he has done to the students and the future of this country," he said.