29 July,2026 02:42 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Participating in the debate, Rahul Gandhi said the demonstrations reflected the concerns and aspirations of young people. Pic/PTI
A debate in the Lok Sabha on the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, turned contentious on Wednesday after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi used the word "idiot" while recounting a conversation with a student during his speech. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju objected to the expression, calling it unparliamentary, while Speaker Om Birla directed that such remarks be expunged from the official proceedings.
Earlier in his speech, Rahul Gandhi said he was encouraged by the student protests over the NEET paper leak issue, describing them as a positive expression of the country's youth rather than an act of anger or violence.
Participating in the debate, Gandhi said the demonstrations reflected the concerns and aspirations of young people.
"I was very excited, reassured by what the future of this country did on our streets. This was not anger, not violence, not hatred, this was an expression, deep expressions of the youth of this country, of the future generation of this country."
He urged political parties across the spectrum to acknowledge the sentiments expressed by students.
"All parties should respect this expression, including my friends in the BJP. If my friends in the BJP were to go and ask their own children about what their brothers and sisters were doing, they would find agreement among their own children. There is nothing wrong with what happened, and every Indian should be proud," he said.
Rahul Gandhi said a discussion with a group of students, particularly a young woman, had shaped his understanding of how young people view education and knowledge.
"A good starting point would be a conversation I had with some students, young girls, which gave me a very interesting perspective," he said.
Recalling the interaction, Gandhi said he had asked one of the students what it meant to be a student.
"The question I asked the girl was that you said you were a student -- what does that mean? Does it mean you study in a college, in a school, you read books?
"She said a student is someone who has an open mind (and) an open heart. A student is someone who accepts that he does not know everything. Whatever he knows will be superseded by new knowledge. He knows the universe is dynamic. He also understands that knowledge is constantly changing. The most important quality, she said, that a student has is humility," he said.
Continuing his speech, Gandhi said the student had contrasted that description with another category of people.
"They are absolutely convinced that they know everything. They believe that the universe is static and they believe that knowledge emerges from inside them. They are arrogant. They don't listen, they don't respect other people's truth. She said I call them idiots," the Leader of Opposition said.
The remark prompted protests from Treasury bench members, with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju objecting to the use of what he described as an unparliamentary expression.
Rahul Gandhi clarified that he was quoting the student's words and was not referring to any member of the House. However, Speaker Om Birla instructed that unparliamentary expressions be removed from the official parliamentary record.
Gandhi went on to describe another part of the student's explanation.
"He wears the truth in their chest," Gandhi said while describing what the student had told him was the hallmark of a genuine learner. He added that the student had contrasted this with people who sought to build an image rather than pursue truth.
"And as that image is not true because the idiot is trying to pretend he is God, he has to create this image," he said.
"I asked about the third category -- andhbhakt. He is absolutely convinced that the idiot is a God," Gandhi said.
He concluded by saying that the framework had been shared by an 18-year-old student and argued that although the protests were triggered by examination-related issues, they reflected broader concerns about the country's education system.
The exchange led to repeated interruptions in the House, with the Speaker urging members to focus on the debate on the examination reforms legislation.
(With inputs from PTI)
