'Attacking me won't absolve you of your crimes': Rahul Gandhi hits back at Dharmendra Pradhan

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday hit back at Dharmendra Pradhan over his comments regarding the NEET-CBSE issue, saying attacking him would not absolve the education minister of his crimes. Pradhan had earlier accused Gandhi of politicising the matter, saying the Congress leader was "frustrated" and "opposed" to India's technological progress. "Dharmendra Pradhan ji, you can attack me all you want, but it won't absolve you of your crimes. Nor will it stop me from demanding answers for 18.5 lakh children," Gandhi said in a post on X. Posing a string of questions, Gandhi asked why the CBSE OSM contract was handed to COEMPT - "a company already mired in controversy under its old name, Globarena?" "On whose orders was it done? Why were no background checks done? What is the connection between COEMPT’s management and the Modi government?" the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha asked. "Either you ran a background check and went ahead anyway - or you didn't run one at all. Either way, you are complicit," his post read.

Gandhi asserted that if the prime minister truly cared about the situation, he should have dismissed Pradhan long ago for jeopardising the futures of countless students. In a post on X, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, "Arrogance and political dramabaazi is the best the Mantri Pradhan can come up with, even amidst the chaos he has created for lakhs of India's students and the absolute incompetence he has shown as minister." He noted that Pradhan was now training his guns on the Leader of Opposition, as he was not content with slandering the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education. "Even while his own ministry is a den of corruption and mismanagement. His thick skin and false bravado are a great fit for the Modi-Shah brand of politics: utterly shameless and disinterested in governance. Ramesh claimed that Prime Minister Modi's "patronage" was responsible for Pradhan's arrogance. "The responsibility for the NEET-CBSE debacles is equally on the Pradhan Mantri, who has protected the Mantri even after the 2024 NTA debacle," Ramesh alleged.

In response to Gandhi's allegations of discrepancies in the CBSE exams, Pradhan stated that the CBSE had responded in line with the Government of India's procurement policy. He assured that if any irregularities were discovered, appropriate action would be taken. "But as far as Rahul Gandhi is concerned, he seems to have reached a different state of mind. Due to continuous electoral defeats, he appears frustrated. He opposed SIR, he used to oppose EVMs, and he opposed Digital India. He does not seem to stand with India's scientific progress," Pradhan said. Pradhan took responsibility on behalf of the government for any "inconvenience" caused and urged that this was not the time for politics. "Right now, the most important thing is that the mental stress of these students and examinees should not increase further. We appeal to everyone that no one's words or behaviour should add to their stress," the minister said. On Wednesday, Gandhi claimed that the CBSE examination results had been plagued by "massive irregularities" and called for an independent judicial inquiry and the establishment of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to uncover the truth behind the "entire scam." He also alleged that a firm with a questionable past in Telangana had been awarded the contract by CBSE for the digital evaluation of answer sheets.