‘Students’ echo’ has reached the threshold of arrogant power, says Kharge

"India's 'students' echo' has finally reached the threshold of the arrogant power," Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Saturday (July 25), hailing Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation as the triumph of a nationwide student movement that had demanded accountability over the NEET-UG paper leak controversy.

Describing the development as "the victory of truth and the defeat of Mr Modi's stubbornness", Kharge said millions of young people had forced the government to respond after taking to the streets across the country to demand reforms in the education system.

"This is the victory of our millions of youth who raised their voices on the streets across the country to fix the education system," he said. Kharge also termed it a victory for families who had lost their children during the agitation and for the united Opposition, which, he said, had stood with students from Parliament to the streets.

The Congress president, however, said the resignation did not mark the end of the movement. He demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologise to the country's young generation and take strict action against those responsible for the alleged use of lathis, batons and pellet guns against student protesters.

"Now it is Mr Modi's turn to apologise to our young generation and to take strict action against those who unleashed lathis, batons and pellet guns on them," Kharge said.

Congress general secretary and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also welcomed Pradhan's resignation, calling it "an important day in the modern history of our nation" and describing it as a victory for thousands of students who had continued their protests despite repeated attempts to suppress their movement.

Addressing a felicitation programme for the Kalladi Rescue and Relief Teams in Kerala, Priyanka Gandhi said students had placed the country's future ahead of their own interests by standing up for their rights.

"Thousands of students across India have been protesting for their rights, putting the future of India and its youth ahead of themselves," she said.

Alleging that the government had failed to silence the protests, she said, "Every attempt by the Modi government to use force against them and suppress their voices has failed. Today, their will has prevailed. The government has been forced to bend to their demand for the Education Minister's resignation."

Calling it a moment to reaffirm faith in Indian democracy, Priyanka Gandhi said the episode reflected the resilience of the country's youth.

"Today is also a day to renew our faith in the vibrancy of our democracy and the strength of our people. We feel proud that we have a younger generation willing to serve, willing to build the future, and willing to put themselves forward at all costs," she said.

Congress media and publicity department chairman and Rajya Sabha MP Pawan Khera said Pradhan's resignation represented only one of the demands raised by students and the Opposition and insisted that the movement would continue.

"Of the demands made by the country's students and us, only one demand has been fulfilled so far," Khera said. "This is not the end of the struggle. This is the beginning of the struggle."

He called for accountability over the alleged violence against students during the protests on July 20, saying the Prime Minister should apologise not only for the police action but also to the families of students who lost their lives during the agitation.

Referring to Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's remarks that "Narendra Modi is the past", Khera alleged that the government had betrayed the country's youth by responding to peaceful protests with force.

He described Pradhan as a symbol of a broken education system marked by corruption, unemployment and official insensitivity, but argued that the campaign had always been directed against the larger system rather than an individual.

"The fight was not just against the symbol, but against the system—and it will continue," Khera said, congratulating students, young people and the unemployed for what he described as a hard-earned victory.