CJP protest: Rahul Gandhi applauds students, says PM must apologise

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday congratulated students over Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhanrsquos resignation and urged other groups to show courage and stand up saying it is time to remove the governmentldquoWe hold Amit Shah directly responsible for the violence that has taken place against our students He authorised the shooting of our studentshellip the use of lethal weapons including pellet guns against our studentshellip This will be a major issue in Parliamentrdquo the Leader of Opposition saidAkhilesh YadavldquoThe students are also demanding an apology from the Prime Minister This protest has happened and the deeper reason behind it is that Indiarsquos systems mdash the job creation system education system institutional system and media system have been destroyed They have ceased to function effectivelyhellip The government should understand that what has happened here is just one step in a much deeper problemrdquo he notedSamajwadi Party chief and MP Akhilesh Yadav said ldquoThis is a victory for the youth Itrsquos a victory for the new generation who came forward with their demands The government had to bow down The government will have to think very seriously about everything from primary education to higher education Concrete steps have to be taken to prevent paper leaksrdquoMetros reopen in DelhiAll 18 Delhi Metro stations in central Delhi which had remained shut due to security reasons reopened on Saturday after the CJP withdrew its protest ending four days of restrictions Metro authorities said normal entry and exit had resumedStudent bodies Wersquoll continue protestsStudent organisations across the political spectrum on Saturday welcomed the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan describing it as a major victory for the nationwide agitation over the alleged irregularities in the NEET examinationVinod JakharHowever they asserted that their protests would continue until broader demands concerning accountability and education reforms are addressed The Congressaffiliated National Studentsrsquo Union of Indiarsquos NSUI National President Vinod Jakhar maintained that while the primary demand seeking accountability through the ministerrsquos resignation had been achieved the movement would continue until all pending demands of students were fulfilledNSUI said the agitation was ldquonot about one individual or one resignationrdquo but about restoring transparency accountability and justice in the education systemLeft AISA Prez Neha Bora and right LoP Rahul Gandhi PicPTIThe All India Studentsrsquo Association AISA also described the resignation as a ldquototal victoryrdquo for the student movement AISA All India President Neha Bora said ldquoOur fight is not for one ministerrsquos resignation but for the democratisation of education The National Testing Agency must be scrapped and the National Education Policy which deepens exclusion and privatisation must be withdrawnrdquoNew Bill proposes 10 year jail for leaking papersA Bill to amend a twoyearold antipaper leak law is set for introduction in the Lok Sabha on Monday According to the Public Examinations Prevention of Unfair Means Amendment Bill 2026 investigations into paper leak cases are to be completed within two monthsThe Bill says that individuals involved in paper leaks or unfair means in exams will get jail terms for a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 10 years and a fine of up to R50 lakh For organised crimes the Bill proposes a minimum sentence of seven years and a fine of up to R10 crore All the states and UTs will have fasttrack courts to complete trialsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever