Rahul says students need PM's apology, not forgiveness over corrupt exam system
Congress leader accuses Modi of ignoring families affected by paper leaks and cancelled exams during Tamil Nadu visit
Rahul says students need PM's apology, not forgiveness over 'corrupt' exaCongress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should apologise to the country's students for giving them a "corrupt" exam system, asserting that they do not need his "forgiveness" but accountability for repeated examination failures.
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha made the remarks in a post on X after meeting the families of students who died by suicide during his day-long visit to Tamil Nadu.
Expressing sympathy for the bereaved families, Gandhi said no parent should have to endure the pain of losing a child and alleged that each such tragedy highlighted deeper flaws in the country's education system.
"Nothing is more painful than seeing a parent grieve their child," Gandhi said, adding that behind every young life lost was a family carrying lifelong grief and unanswered questions about a "broken education system".
The Congress leader alleged that recurring paper leaks and the cancellation of examinations had shattered the aspirations of lakhs of students who had spent years preparing for competitive tests.
"Leaked papers. Cancelled exams. Years of preparation destroyed overnight. Our students are told to work honestly in a system that is not honest with them," Gandhi said.
Targeting the prime minister, Gandhi said Modi had the audacity to speak of "forgiving" students despite not having visited a single parent whose child allegedly died after feeling devastated by repeated examination failures linked to paper leaks and cancelled tests.
He further alleged that the prime minister had neither met grieving families nor interacted with students whose futures had been adversely affected by irregularities in the examination system.
"He has not sat with a single student whose future was stolen by a leaked paper," Gandhi said.
Maintaining that the government had failed to address the concerns of students and their families, Gandhi said they deserved an apology rather than expressions of forgiveness.
"India's students do not need his forgiveness. They are owed his apology," the Congress leader said, reiterating his criticism of the government's handling of examination-related issues.