Criminal education minister: Rahul jabs Pradhan after protester hit by pellets
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday demanded the removal of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, calling him a "criminal education minister" and a symbol of the
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday demanded the removal of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, calling him a "criminal education minister" and a symbol of the collapse of India’s education system. Gandhi made the remarks while presenting before the media a student protester who was allegedly shot with a pellet gun by security personnel during the July 20 protests. Gandhi also demanded action against those who allegedly fired at and baton-charged students, and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should apologise to them. The injured protester, who identified himself as Sahil, said he was seeking justice after suffering injuries to his right eye. Read Full Story Addressing reporters with Sahil by his side, Gandhi said, "You are saying that protesters have been hit by pellet guns. I want to explain when pellet guns were fired. My brother was struck by a pellet gun when he was peacefully protesting with a tricolour in hand." Gandhi also lifted Sahil’s T-shirt to show his injuries to the media and said his eye was damaged and he was unable to see from it.
"This is the future of our country. This has happened to thousands of youth, they have been shot at with pellet guns and have been beaten up in lathi-charge. What are they doing? They are doing peaceful protests," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said. Gandhi said Sahil had appeared for an examination for recruitment to the police force, but the question paper was leaked. "His mother and father from their hard-earned money had got him this opportunity. The government must stop lying. The government has attacked our future," he said. Gandhi said the students were making three demands: that the education minister be removed, that action be taken against those who fired at and beat students with lathis, and that the prime minister apologise. "Narendra Modi, who is the operator of the system, should apologise to thousands of students," he said, adding that there was no certainty whether Sahil’s eye could be saved.
"Stop assaulting and threatening our students," he said. Gandhi also said Pradhan was "the reason this brother has gotten shot" and "the reason thousands of people are outside on the streets protesting". Sahil, who was allegedly hit by a pellet gun in his right eye, said he wanted justice. He has undergone one surgery to repair the injured eye and remove pellets, and is awaiting another. He was first taken to Lady Hardinge Medical College, then to Safdarjung Hospital, and was later shifted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre on July 21. The circumstances surrounding Sahil’s injuries have raised questions about the alleged use of pellet guns during the protest. Delhi Police has denied that its personnel used pellet guns against protesters during the march. The CRPF, whose Rapid Action Force was also deployed on the streets that day, did not respond to questions on the alleged use of pellet guns. Pellet guns were used in Kashmir to control violence that broke out in 2010, but were later discontinued by the then state government.
The BriefWire