BJP leaders welcome Dharmendra Pradhan in Parliament; Opposition raises slogans over NEET paper leak issue

PTI, July 27, 2026, New Delhi: BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan, who resigned as Union Education Minister following students' protests over the NEET row, was welcomed by some BJP leaders in the Parliament complex on Monday with a traditional cap and stole amid slogans such as "Pradhan Zindabad".

Opposition MPs at the same time shouted slogans such as "Chor Chor, Paper Chor" and criticised the ruling dispensation for felicitating Pradhan.

Congress leader Pawan Khera said: "These are the same people who even welcomed the rapists in the Bilkis Bano case, so let's leave them aside. Pradhan is an RSS hero because he implemented the RSS agenda through the education ministry. That's why he's their hero. But as far as Pradhan is concerned, people now know his true self, as we can see on social media and on roads."

Hitting out at the government, Congress deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi alleged that the BJP government is "not serious" about reforming the education system and termed the proposed anti-paper leak legislation a "cosmetic Bill".

"I see that this government is not serious about reforming the Indian education system. Therefore, they have brought a cosmetic Bill... we already know that a main culprit of a previous scam was let go by the court. Because sufficient evidence was not gathered, so what use is this fast-track amendment Bill, when this BJP government is hell-bent upon protecting those who are indulging in all this kind of scams," Gogoi said.

The Prime Minister on Sunday announced the constitution of a high-powered task force headed by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani to recommend reforms to make the examination system leak-proof.

Referring to the police action against student protesters on July 20, Gogoi alleged that the government wanted to "protect" Home Minister Amit Shah and claimed that students in BJP-ruled states were facing FIRs and arrests, creating "a fear of reprisal".

He reiterated the Opposition's demand that the Home Minister make a statement in Parliament on the police action.

"...They don't want to remove the RSS triangle hole on the Indian education system. They don't want reform and, for us, our purpose remains the same, that the Home Minister must give a statement on the floor of the House as to how the police brutality was undertaken on 20th of July," Gogoi said.