Crocodile tears: Dharmendra Pradhan slams Rahul Gandhi over Jharkhand protests
Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the Opposition's stand on a discussion on student issues in Parliament. He
Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the Opposition's stand on a discussion on student issues in Parliament. He accused Gandhi of spreading lies and shedding "crocodile tears" instead of agreeing to take part in the debate. Pradhan also alleged that the Congress was showing "double standards" on issues linked to youth and students. He referred to the police action against job aspirants protesting over alleged irregularities in recruitment exams in Jharkhand, where the Congress is part of the JMM-led coalition government. Read Full Story In a post on X in Hindi, Pradhan said, "The Congress party's approach to democracy is also selective. There is violence against youth wherever it holds power. And where it has to shine its politics, there is falsehood and uproar." He said the country had witnessed what he described as brutality against students in Jharkhand and questioned why Rahul Gandhi, who often addresses issues through press conferences, had remained silent on the matter.
On Monday, the government offered to hold a discussion in the Lok Sabha on student protests, with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju saying in the House that Home Minister Amit Shah would respond to the debate. However, the Congress and its allies said they would agree to the offer only if a discussion on the alleged embezzlement of Ram temple donations was also taken up. The BJP then accused Gandhi of shifting the goalposts to deliberately disrupt Parliament. As the deadlock between the government and the Opposition continued on Tuesday, Pradhan said, "The Congress is constantly spreading lies regarding the students' interests. Rahul Gandhi lacks facts." He also criticised Gandhi for making what he called "baseless" allegations against the Union home minister, and described the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha as "a habitual liar".
Pradhan said, "Gandhi has no intention of attending Parliament or listening to the reply. All he wants to do is spread falsehoods and shed crocodile tears." Pradhan further alleged that while the government was ready to discuss "every issue" in Parliament, the Congress was disrupting proceedings and working against the interests of the country and its youth. "This is because their intent is to prioritise their own interests over the national interest. They create a ruckus outside (Parliament Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) when discussions are taking place inside the House, simply because they lack the capacity to listen to the answers provided there," he said. He added that the country’s youth had understood what he described as the Congress’ “double standards” and accused Rahul Gandhi and the party of carrying a mindset rooted in the Emergency era, warning that there was no place for dictatorship in a democracy.
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