Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, slammed the Narendra Modi government at the Center in his first reaction to the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) protest march to Parliament on Monday, saying students who raised legitimate concerns were “dragged and beaten”.
Accusing Prime Minister Modi of being the “most anti-youth prime minister”, Gandhi said that the punishment for the alleged leak of the paper was imposed on the students and not the culprits.
“Prime Minister Modi is the most anti-youth Prime Minister in India’s history – so anti-youth that he cannot even demand the resignation of the failed Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan. 152 paper leaks. 7.5 crore students were victims. No guilty person was punished. Who got punished? Hardworking youth,” Rahul Gandhi said on X.
He added: “And when these children raised legitimate questions about education – they were met with batons and arrests in response. The criminals who leaked the papers roam freely – and students who raise legitimate issues are dragged away and beaten. This government is not only failing the youth, it is cracking down on them.”
Priyanka Gandhi is also targeting the government
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also questioned the police action against students protesting against the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak, calling them “Bache hai hamare”, and accused the Center of not wanting to discuss issues related to education policy in Parliament.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament during the opening day of the monsoon session, Priyanka Gandhi alleged that while the opposition was seeking a discussion on pressing concerns in the education sector, students protesting over the issue were met with force.
Priyanka Gandhi said: “We all demand discussion. There are big problems and issues related to education policy. However, you are not ready to discuss them; instead, you use tear gas on students and beat them. Why? They are our children.”
Nadda meets CJP
Union Minister and former BJP national president JP Nadda on Monday said that BJP members had approached the government for talks for the first time and urged them to call off their sit-in after the discussions ended. CJP representatives said he only told them he would discuss the matter internally.
“This morning, for the first time, a proposal came from the protesters to hold talks with the government, and our discussions have been continuing since 11:50 a.m.,” Nada wrote on X.
Neda described the meeting as cordial and said that the government held detailed discussions with the PJD delegation, which also submitted a written petition. He said, “The meeting took place in a friendly atmosphere. A preliminary verbal discussion was held in detail with their delegation, and they submitted a written request to me at around 4 p.m..”
Neda said he urged the demonstrators to stop their protests and cooperate with the authorities.
On the CJP side, after meeting Nadda, Congress spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said: “We came to Nadda Ji’s residence at around 12. We met him at around 2:15 pm. We put three demands before him. First, Sonam Wangchuk Ji should be released immediately and allowed to address the people through a video message. Second, Dharmendra Pradhan Ji, whom we consider to be the incompetent Education Minister, should either be removed immediately or submit his resignation.” Accepted Thirdly, compensation should be given to the families of students who died by suicide after NEET paper leak $1 crore each.”
He said that after another round of talks at 4 pm, “Nada ji said that he would discuss these demands with the high command and inform us of their decision.”
When asked about the assurances they received from Nadda, Ranka said: “The only assurance I received is that he will discuss the matter with the high command and we will be informed of whatever action will be taken soon.”
