Opposition slams BJP for ‘superstar’ welcome to Pradhan in Lok Sabha
Pradhan welcomed ‘as if he had come back after fighting a war with Pakistan’
New Delhi : Indian Opposition leaders tore into the BJP in Lok Sabha for giving a “hero’s welcome” to Dharmendra Pradhan after he quit as central Education Minister amid India-wide student protests over the paper leak scandal.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, participating in a debate on the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill 2026, said Pradhan was welcomed as a “superstar” in Parliament on Monday.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also questioned the reception accorded to him. Initiating the debate, Deputy Leader of Congress in the House Gaurav Gogoi said Pradhan was welcomed “as if he had come back after fighting a war with Pakistan.” “Same Dharmendra Pradhan was the education minister then (2024), and now… When he came here, he was welcomed as if he had come back after fighting with Pakistan. Do you have no shame?” Gogoi asked.
Gogoi said the 2026 paper leak proved the 2024 law was a failure. “Then also the government had said it was a historic step, which will deter people from leaking paper. The 2026 leak proved that the law was a failure, and it will fail again,” he said.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Monday slammed the reception, saying in a post on X that “Dharmendra Pradhan is — and will always remain — a symbol of corruption and India’s ruined education system. That very system claimed the lives of 26 children and forced lakhs of youths to take to the streets.”
“Pradhan had to resign not out of moral conscience, but out of fear of the youth’s outrage. And today, the BJP is garlanding that very same person in Parliament. This is not an honour; it is a celebration of the ruined futures of lakhs of children. Every student in the country is watching this, and will remember every face involved,” Gandhi said.
Pradhan resigned on Saturday following weeks of Cockroach Janta Party-led widespread protests over irregularities in NEET-UG 2026 and the government’s handling of the issue.
