BJP Greets Pradhan with Zindabad Slogans; Opposition Shouts Paper Chor
New Delhi: BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan, who resigned from the Union education ministry following students’ protests over the NEET debate, was welcomed by some BJP leaders in the Parliament complex on Monday, wearing a traditional hat and strutting his stuff amidst slogans like ‘Pradhan Zindabad’. Opposition MPs also shouted slogans like ‘Chor Chor, Paper Chor’ and attacked the ruling dispensation for congratulating Pradhan.
Congress leader Pawan Khera said, “These are the people who welcomed even the rapists in the Bilkis Bano case, so let’s leave them aside. Pradhan is an RSS hero because he implemented the RSS agenda through the education ministry. That’s why he is their hero. But as far as Pradhan is concerned, people now know that we can see his real identity on social media and on the roads.”
Hitting out at the government, Congress deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi alleged that the BJP government was “not serious” about reforming the education system and termed the proposed anti-paper leak law as a “cosmetic bill”.
“I see that this government is not serious about reforming the Indian education system. So, they have brought a cosmetic bill… We already know that the main culprit of an earlier scam has been let off by the court. Since not enough evidence has been collected, what is the use of this quick change bill. When this BJP government is determined to protect those who are indulging in all such scams,” Gogoi said.
Gogoi also questioned the government’s announcement of setting up a new powerful committee on education reforms, saying a similar panel headed by K Radhakrishnan was set up two years ago but “nothing happened” and it remained “only on paper”.
“Secondly, PM Modi is praising this new high-powered committee as if it is a major reform. But just two years ago, there was another committee appointed for the same purpose under the chairmanship of K Radhakrishnan. Nothing happened, only on paper and for them even today Pradhan is a successful education minister,” he said.
“It is so clear that the BJP government and Prime Minister Modi do not want to reform the Indian education system,” he said.
Prime Minister Modi on Sunday announced the formation of a high-powered working group headed by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani to recommend reforms to make the examination system watertight.
Referring to the police crackdown on student protesters on July 20, Gogoi claimed that the government wanted to “protect” Home Minister Amit Shah and alleged that students in BJP-ruled states were facing FIRs and arrests, creating “fear of retaliation”. He reiterated the opposition’s demand that the interior minister make a statement in Parliament regarding the police operation.
“…They do not want to eliminate the RSS triangle loophole in the Indian education system. They do not want reforms and for us our aim remains the same that the home minister should make a statement in the Parliament on how police brutality was carried out on July 20,” Gogoi said.
When asked about the welcome of Pradhan by the BJP leaders, Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury said, “I see the same for the killers of Bilkis Bano. By welcoming Pradhan, they are making him a guilty person, a hero from scratch. That is exactly what they are doing. Their attitude has always been the same. I have been saying this from the very beginning. This is the character of this government and its values are zero.”
When reporters asked Pradhan for his reaction on the new anti-paper leak bill and his resignation, Pradhan did not respond.
The government on Monday introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to replace the law against paper leaks with stricter penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment and Rs 50 lakh, in the wake of large-scale student protests against the NEET debacle that shook the country, forcing Pradhan to resign as education minister.
The proposed law was introduced by PMO Minister of State Jitendra Singh amid protests and slogans from the opposition demanding a response from the government against the police crackdown on students during the protest march to Parliament on July 20, led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
According to the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, investigations into paper leak cases must be completed within two months.
