‘Defender of rapists…filthiest type of man’: The Gandhis vs Pralhad Joshi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday described Pralhad Joshi as a "defender of rapists" and a "filthy man" as he hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for appointing such a person as the country's education minister. Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha said the prime minister could have chosen anyone in his cabinet as the education minister, but it is strange he chose a person who "protects rapists". "The Education Minister of India - who after all these young people were protesting about the education system and so many young girls were protesting and were beaten and thrashed, the BJP puts a man who is a defender of rapists. That is the most filthy type of man. There can be no filthier man than somebody who says that rapists need protection. That is the Education Minister of India today," Gandhi told reporters.

"It is strange. It's a strange reaction from the prime minister. There are so many people in his Cabinet; he could have chosen any one of them. But he chooses a person who protects rapists. It's quite amazing," he also said. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who earlier made similar remarks inside Lok Sabha while speaking on the bill to make a stringent law against paper leaks and other malpractices in exam system, said this sends a wrong message. The remarks made in Lok Sabha created uproar with the treasury benches demanding that Vadra authenticates whatever she has stated.

Vadra later said she will properly authenticate her words as a video of Joshi is also available with them. "At a time when they are talking about women's rights, women's reservation, and they are putting women at the forefront... you know what women have to face and deal within society in general, their security and everything... this sends a very wrong message," Vadra said. The Congress also released an earlier video of Joshi, who while sitting with the rapists of Bilkis Bano, was asked about their release. He is heard saying, "I don't think there is anything wrong in that because that is being done as per process of law."

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's remarks against the newly appointed Education Minister sparked a sharp exchange in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, with Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi and Kiren Rijiju accusing her of spreading misinformation and making personal allegations. Speaking during the discussion in the Lok Sabha, Priyanka Gandhi made remarks against the newly appointed Education Minister while targeting the government over issues related to examination irregularities and accountability. "The Prime Minister appointed a new Education Minister, a person who expressed consent and even happiness over the release of those convicted of raping a pregnant woman...," Priyanka Gandhi said.

Objecting to the remarks, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi should authenticate her statements, calling them misinformation. "Priyanka ji should have authenticated her statements. Action should be taken regarding the misinformation being spread. Can one simply say anything and get away with it?... I refute these allegations. She should be expelled and must apologise," Joshi said. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju also criticised the Congress MP's remarks, calling them "character assassination" in Parliament.

"While Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was speaking, there were interruptions from her side earlier, and there were interruptions from our side as well. But we were listening peacefully. However, the remarks she has just made about our current Education Minister amount to character assassination in Parliament. We do not expect such language," Rijiju said. Earlier, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi said that thousands of young people had taken to the streets peacefully to raise their voices and demanded accountability from the government. She said students were losing faith in the system and beginning to feel that dishonesty mattered more than hard work. "The Constitution of this country is above all for us, and democracy is supreme. To destroy it is a sin. The millions of people of this country ask only one thing from us: accountability. After giving us power and bringing us here, their only expectation is that whatever we do should be for their welfare. And if injustice is done to them, we must be answerable to them and ensure that they get justice. Thousands of young people took to the streets in recent days and expressed their pain," the Congress MP said.

"Following the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi, they kept the values of truth and non-violence in their hearts and protested peacefully, singing and smiling. They exercised their right to raise their voice, which is one of the most fundamental principles of democracy. These are the children of India who live in villages, in metropolitan cities, in small towns, and in smaller cities, where a mother sells her jewellery, a father mortgages his land, and a family spends its entire life's savings on the dreams of their child. Today, those very children have started feeling that in this country, more than hard work, it is dishonesty that matters," she further said. She criticised the government over the felicitation of former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Parliament, saying it was ironic that he was being welcomed while a family in Maharashtra was mourning the death of their daughter, who she said was a victim of a paper leak.

"Yesterday, the Education Minister (Dharmendra Pradhan) resigned under shameful circumstances, and yesterday at Makar Dwar, my colleagues from the ruling party welcomed him in Parliament by raising slogans of 'Zindabad' as if a superstar had arrived. Look at the irony, Honourable Speaker: while the former Education Minister was being honoured and welcomed with a crown, a family in Maharashtra was mourning the suicide of their daughter, who was a victim of the paper leak. What message has your government sent to the crores of students across the country? What are you proud of? What is this arrogance? Where there should have been shame, there is instead celebration and applause. On one side, there is grief and mourning; on the other, you are presenting someone with garlands. How can anyone trust you?," she said.