Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party government for the police crackdown on youth protests, remarking that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should change his “dil ka angle [heart’s angle], not camera angle”.
On Thursday, the prime minister had posted a late-night video message on social media assuring strict action on cases of paper leaks in competitive examinations, amid nationwide youth protests over irregularities in the process.
A day later, he posted another video thanking viewers for the responses and positive suggestions on the previous night.
Speaking during the debate on the 2026 Public Examinations Prevention of Unfair Means Amendment Bill, Vadra questioned the government’s handling of the student protests and asked who had authorised the use of force against demonstrators.
“The whole country, not merely Congress is asking – what was the need, and who, the Home Minister or the Prime Minister – allowed the lathis, tear gas, water canons, pellet guns and AK47 to be used on students on July 20,” she asked.
She also questioned whether the protesters “were terrorists”.
Vadra alleged that the examination system had failed, claiming there had been 152 paper leaks over the past decade affecting crores of students, while “not a single culprit” or member of the “paper leak mafia” had been punished.
The Wayanad MP urged the government to restore students’ trust by correcting its approach and abandoning arrogance.
Vadra also criticised BJP MPs for welcoming former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at Parliament after his resignation.
“The Education Minister (Dharmendra Pradhan) resigned in the most shameful manner, and he was welcomed as a superstar in the Parliament at the Makar Dwar,” she said.
She then went on to criticise Prahlad Joshi, the new education minister, saying he was “a person who expressed consent and even happiness over the release of those convicted of raping a pregnant woman,” ANI reported.
She was referencing his 2022 comments defending the Union government’s approval to release 11 men convicted and sentenced to life in prison in the Bilkis Bano case
“I don’t find anything wrong in it as it is done as a process of the law,” Joshi had told NDTV.
In response to Vadra, Joshi demanded that she authenticate her statements and claimed that the Congress leader was spreading misinformation, ANI reported.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju claimed Vadra’s comments amounted to “character assassination within Parliament” and asked that the comments be expunged.
The agitation in Delhi started on June 6, when the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign began a protest at Jantar Mantar to demand the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, the Union education minister at the time, over the alleged irregularities in the conduct of competitive exams. Solidarity protests were held in several states. Pradhan resigned on Saturday, following which Joshi was given the additional charge of the education portfolio.
Written by Sara Varghese. Edited by Neerad Pandhariande.
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