BJP slams Congress's 'undignified conduct' during protests in Jaipur

BJP Rajasthan chief Madan Rathore criticised Congress's "undignified conduct" in recent protests. In response, Rahul Gandhi slammed the government over 152 paper leaks in the last decade, calling the education system 'rigged' and 'unaffordable'.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajasthan State President Madan Rathore on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party, criticising its recent political demonstrations and stating that the public will not tolerate "undignified conduct".

BJP Stages Symbolic Protest

Addressing reporters in Jaipur, the BJP State Chief said that the party had initially planned a major demonstration outside the local Congress headquarters but opted to stage a symbolic protest instead to avoid any confrontation with law enforcement officials on the ground. "We had decided to lay siege to the Congress office and teach them a lesson in good sense. However, since the police are present, we do not wish to confront them. That is why we staged a symbolic protest. Congress ought to see reason now and understand that the people of this country will not tolerate such undignified conduct at all.", he said.

Earlier, A large number of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers gathered outside the Congress headquarters in Gujarat to stage a protest against the opposition party's demonstration near the Prime Minister's Lok Kalyan Marg (LKM) residence in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Rahul Gandhi Slams Govt Over Paper Leaks

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday slammed police action on protestors in the national capital on Monday over their demands about issues in the education sector and said 152 paper leaks occurred in the last decade, affecting 7.5 crore students and their families. Addressing a press conference here a day after the Congress held a protest at Lok Kalyan Marg against police action on protestors during the 'Chalo Sansad' march, Rahul Gandhi, who is Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, said the party fully supports the demands of students.

'Education System is Rigged'

"The thing that is very clear to everybody is that our education system, which was known to be one of the best education systems in the world, is today rigged... What we do know is that 152 paper leaks have taken place over the last decade. If you do the math. So one a month approx. Every month, lakhs of students are told that all the stress that you went through, you're going to have to go through again. After that, they tell we really don't care," the Congress MP said.

"Seven-and-a-half crore students and their families are affected by this. These are middle-class and poor families. They put their hard-earned money into this, and then they literally spat on. And the best part of this is zero convictions. In the last 10 years, 152 leaks have taken place and zero convictions. So somebody is or a group of people are, destroying our education system, India's most valuable asset, destroying the lives of our students. What does the government do? Zero convictions," he added.

'Students Protesting Peacefully'

He said the protestors were demanding a fair education system. "The question is why is this happening to our students? What exactly have our students done? They have security forces aiming weapons at them. What have they done wrong? They are protesting peacefully; they are making demands; they are asking for what this country owes them. They are simply asking that listen as students of the country, we deserve an education system that us fair. Children have committed suicide. Our students go through unlimited stress and at the last minute they are told that the paper has leaked," he said.

'System is Unaffordable'

He alleged that India's education system is not only "rigged" but also unaffordable, claiming that families whose members appear for NEET spend nearly as much as the government's annual education budget. "It's not just that the system is rigged, it's that the system is unaffordable. This is a statistic that every youngster knows, but somehow the Government of India doesn't. One exam costs the families who take this exam the same amount of money as our entire education budget. The government of India, after collecting all the taxes, spends money on the future of our children. That money goes into something called the education budget. It is Rs 1.4 lakh crores. At the same time every year, a similar amount of Rs 1.32 lakh crore is spent by the families who are taking the NEET exam. This is pure theft from these families, nothing else. And then after you steal from them, you tell them that there's a paper leak. The thing is rigged. So this is the second reason and legitimate reason why our youngsters are outside," he said. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)