Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday criticised the removal of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk from Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, where he had been on a hunger strike, accusing the Centre of attempting to suppress peaceful protests and silence students’ concerns.
In a post on X, Gandhi said the Narendra Modi government’s guiding principles were “Asatya” (falsehood) and “Hinsa” (violence), adding that removing Wangchuk during a non-violent fast was unjustified. He asserted that no amount of force could prevent students and their supporters from raising issues affecting the country’s education system.
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Wangchuk has been on an indefinite fast since June 28 in support of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led campaign over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination and reported student deaths linked to the controversy. Delhi Police shifted him to a hospital early on Saturday, citing medical advice and directions from the Delhi High Court. Organisers have maintained that the planned July 20 march to Parliament will proceed.
Gandhi’s remarks came a day after he addressed the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ rally in Dehradun, where he demanded comprehensive reforms to India’s education and examination systems. He argued that educational institutions should remain free from political influence and called for a broad consensus to tackle recurring examination paper leaks.
The Congress leader alleged that nearly 7.5 crore students had been affected by paper leaks, blaming a “corrupt system” involving coaching institutes, examination centres, paper setters, transporters, the National Testing Agency and the Union Education Ministry.
He also proposed replacing the existing examination model with a student-centric framework featuring secure question banks and technology-driven randomised question papers, similar to global examinations such as the GMAT. Gandhi further stressed that India’s education system should be rebuilt to reduce stress on students and restore confidence among families.
