'Cowardice, Cruelty': Sonia Gandhi Alleges 'Collapse' Of Education System, Slams Modi Govt Over Protests
'Cowardice, Cruelty': Sonia Gandhi Alleges 'Collapse' Of Education System, Slams Modi Govt Over Protests Published By, Last Updated: July 24, 2026, 09:13 IST Sonia Gandhi
'Cowardice, Cruelty': Sonia Gandhi Alleges 'Collapse' Of Education System, Slams Modi Govt Over Protests Published By, Last Updated: July 24, 2026, 09:13 IST Sonia Gandhi has accused the Modi government of crushing student protests, undermining public education and failing on accountability, in the wake of the CJP protests. Sonia Gandhi accused the Centre of responding to student protests with force instead of accountability (Photo: PTI) Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has launched a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi-led government over the ongoing student protests, alleging that the Centre has responded to young people’s demands for accountability and educational reforms with “cowardice and wanton cruelty" instead of dialogue. In an opinion article titled ‘An education system’s collapse, young India’s trauma’, published in The Hindu, Gandhi argued that India’s education landscape has deteriorated under the Modi government and said the recent wave of student protests reflects widespread frustration over paper leaks, the state of public education and the lack of accountability. “Their demands have been straightforward and to the point: accountability from the Government of India and education reform. The Narendra Modi government has responded to their courage with cowardice and wanton cruelty, treating them not as inheritors of the future but as enemies of the nation," Gandhi wrote. She said it was the government’s moral, political and constitutional responsibility to stand with students and safeguard their future, rather than suppressing their voices. According to Gandhi, the protests are “a natural consequence" of a bleak education system combined with what she described as the government’s unwillingness to be accountable.
Criticism Over Police Action Referring to the protests held on July 20, 2026, Gandhi described the day as “a day of infamy" and alleged that the Delhi Police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) used excessive force against peaceful demonstrators. According to her article, numerous protesters were injured after police resorted to lathicharge, tear gas and pellet firing. She claimed that even students returning home were not spared. “The videos from that day are seared into our memories and have stirred our collective conscience. Only the government and its captive media are spinning stories around this spontaneous rising tide of protest," Gandhi wrote, adding, “Stop, these are our sons and daughters, our young men and women." She also alleged that the use of force against student protesters followed a familiar pattern, drawing comparisons with the police action during the Citizenship (Amendment) Act- Register of Citizens (CAA-NRC) protests in 2020 and the protests by India’s women wrestlers. According to Gandhi, the Modi government has repeatedly preferred coercion over dialogue. “Instead of reaching out with understanding to our future doctors and engineers, teachers and civil servants, entrepreneurs and nation builders, it unleashed the repressive power of the state on them. This can neither be forgiven nor forgotten," she wrote. Raises Questions Over Education Policies In the article, Gandhi argued that the current unrest stems from deeper structural issues in India’s education system. She claimed that the Centre has steadily reduced its emphasis on public education, alleging that the share of the Union Budget allocated to school education has fallen by 50 per cent, while the allocation for higher education has declined by 33 per cent.
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