Parliament's Monsoon Session saw a fierce uproar in the Lok Sabha after Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi took a direct, if unnamed, dig at Union Minister Pralhad Joshi during a debate on the government's new stringent law against paper leaks, brought in the wake of the NEET paper leak controversy. She said the government had appointed as education minister a person who had welcomed the release of convicts in a rape case. The remark triggered immediate protests from the treasury benches, and Priyanka Gandhi's microphone was repeatedly muted during the live telecast.
The RML Hospital visit and questions on the police crackdown
Priyanka Gandhi told the House that she had visited RML Hospital to meet a student injured during the protests. There, the injured student's mother asked her whether the people responsible for her daughter's condition had also come to see her. Priyanka Gandhi said the question left her deeply ashamed. She then directly asked the Prime Minister and the Home Minister who had ordered a lathicharge, tear gas and pellet guns against students who were protesting peacefully, in a Gandhian manner.
Shrinking education budget and the paper leak mafia
She said parents across the country sell land and jewellery to educate their children, yet money still counts for more than merit in the system. Students, she said, are only asking that paper leaks stop and that action be taken against those running the leak racket. She also alleged that education's share of the national budget keeps shrinking even as the need to raise it grows.
The Pralhad Joshi remark that set off the uproar
Without naming him, Priyanka Gandhi referred to a former education minister's resignation and the celebrations that followed it, alleging that the government had handed a ministerial post to a leader who had publicly welcomed the release of convicts in the Bilkis Bano case. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and Pralhad Joshi both strongly objected, calling the remark character assassination and demanding that Priyanka Gandhi unconditionally apologise to the House and that her words be expunged from the parliamentary record.
The Speaker's caution and Priyanka Gandhi's response
As the uproar grew, the Speaker cautioned Priyanka Gandhi that nothing should be said in the House without facts to back it. In response, she held up a newspaper clipping in the chamber and said she was ready to have it authenticated. She then asked pointedly whether Pralhad Joshi was denying having made the statement she was citing.
Questions over the Radhakrishnan Committee and the RSS's role
Priyanka Gandhi alleged that the new law being brought by the government contains no concrete, workable measures to stop paper leaks. She said the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Committee have still not been implemented, while the newly formed committees include people who lack a genuine, deep understanding of education. She demanded that educational institutions and the wider system be staffed with capable, hardworking young people instead of being filled with people linked to the RSS, saying the country's youth are seeking justice, not charity.
The theft of dreams and a plea to win back Gen-Z's trust
Turning her attack directly on the government, Priyanka Gandhi said that a bigger theft than a stolen vote in an election or a stolen donation at a temple is the theft of the nation's young people's dreams. She urged the Prime Minister to take responsibility for it and to work at winning back the trust of the country's Gen-Z youth.
A lighter moment amid the sparring
During her speech, Priyanka Gandhi urged the Speaker to smile, saying, "We in the Congress will lay down our lives, but we will not let India lose. Sir, at least smile now." Kiren Rijiju responded with a jibe, saying she had borrowed the lines from Rahul Gandhi's speech. The government later formally reiterated its demand that her remarks about Pralhad Joshi be expunged from the official parliamentary record.
