New Delhi: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday set offa storm in the Lok Sabha during the debate on the alleged NEET-UG paper leak after saying there were “three categories” of people in the country — students, “idiots” and “andhbhakts”.
The remark immediately drew protests in the House, with Speaker Om Birla asking Gandhi to stick to the subject being discussed. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju objected to what he termed an “unparliamentary” expression, following which the Speaker ordered that the word be expunged from the proceedings.
Speaker Steps In
Gandhi, while contrasting students with what he described as “idiots”, said students understand that knowledge is always changing and that the world is in constant motion. He said such people recognise that learning is continuous and that they respect the growth and views of others.
“In contrast, he said there was “another group of people, who are not students and claimed they believed the universe is static and knowledge emerges from inside them”. Gandhi said such people “believe that they are God, are arrogant, don’t listen and don’t respect other people’s truths”, adding that “the student called them idiots.””
He also referred to a third category, describing “andhbhakts” as those who “hollow India’s roots.”
Row Over Language
Ahead of Gandhi’s intervention, Rijiju accused the Congress and other Opposition parties of trying to divert attention from the issue and said he hoped the Leader of Opposition would speak on the subject under discussion, as reported by The Economic Times.
“Such an important Bill is being discussed, but they are trying to divert attention by talking about unrelated issues and politicising it,” he said.
Rijiju also attacked Gandhi’s choice of words, saying, Rahul Gandhi is using all kinds of undemocratic and very abusive language, which is not in keeping with the correct discourse in a parliamentary democracy. One must use civilised and soft language.
“We may differ with each other, but the kind of abusive and demeaning language Rahul ji uses is not good for democracy and not good for our country,” the minister said.
The debate took place days after former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned following widespread protests over the alleged NEET paper leak and concerns over irregularities in the examination system. After his resignation, President Droupadi Murmu accepted Pradhan’s resignation and assigned Union Minister Pralhad Joshi additional charge of the Ministry of Education.
The resignation has continued to fuel political sparring. On Tuesday, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said it was “shameful” that BJP MPs welcomed Pradhan in the Parliament complex two days after his resignation “as if he were a superstar”. Pradhan was felicitated by party colleagues with a traditional cap and stole as they raised slogans of “Pradhan Zindabad”, while Opposition MPs countered with slogans of “Chor, chor, paper chor”.
Asked about the reception, Priyanka Gandhi called it “shameful” that BJP MPs had accorded Dharmendra Pradhan a rousing welcome in Parliament just two days after he resigned over the NEET-UG controversy, saying he was greeted “as if he were a superstar.
She also alleged that students were still being harassed. “No one can trust the Modi government, because even today, students are being harassed. I saw some Instagram handles with photographs of women alleging that they did such and such a thing…Do you want to engage in talks to resolve this matter or you are still after the students, wanting to suppress them? This is wrong,” she said.
