New Delhi, 23 July (H.S.):

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of setting up fast-track courts for cases related to paper leaks and demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

In a post on social media platform X, Rahul Gandhi said that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the government together had caused significant damage to the future of the country’s youth.

Gandhi alleged that the government not only allowed the education system to be taken over and deteriorate but also encouraged it and protected those responsible for the situation.

The Leader of Opposition said that the Congress had placed three demands before the government — removal of Dharmendra Pradhan from his post, an apology to the students and action against those responsible for violence against protesting students.

Meanwhile, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal shared a video on X and described the announcement of fast-track courts as an attempt to “cover up” the student protests. He demanded strict action against the entire paper leak network and the influential people allegedly involved instead of only announcing fast-track courts.

Kejriwal said that the Prime Minister announced the creation of fast-track courts for paper leak cases on Thursday morning. However, he questioned the effectiveness of such courts, saying that similar fast-track courts had already been established for cases related to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and rape cases, but hearings in many such cases were still pending.

Kejriwal questioned why the Prime Minister did not mention the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan while addressing the issue.

Expressing concern over the police action against students during the Jantar Mantar protest, Kejriwal asked why the government remained silent and why no action was taken over the alleged violence against protesters.

He further alleged that paper leak cases emerge every year but the Prime Minister did not assure that the NEET paper leak issue would not occur again in the future.

The Opposition has continued to demand the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan and action against those responsible for violence during the protests.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar