NEW DELHI: Former Union education minister and senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday trained his guns on Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi, branding him a “habitual liar” and accusing the Congress of shedding “crocodile tears” over students’ concerns.Pradhan’s remarks came amid protests in Jharkhand over irregularities and paper leaks in competitive examinations. In Jharkhand, Congress is part of the ruling alliance with Jharkhand Mukti Morcha led by chief minister Hemant Soren in the state.In a post on X, former Union education minister accused the Congress of “continuously spreading lies” about students’ interests and alleged that Rahul Gandhi “lacks facts”.“The leader of opposition, who habitually lies, neither wants to come to Parliament nor listen to answers. They just want to spread their lies and shed crocodile tears,” Pradhan said.Pradhan also hit back at the opposition’s sustained attack on the Centre and Union home minister Amit Shah, accusing Rahul Gandhi and the Congress of making “baseless” and “factless” allegations.“Making baseless, factless false accusations against the Honorable Home Minister Shri Amit Shah ji reveals the political desperation of Rahul Gandhi and the Congress,” Pradhan said.The former Union minister also maintained that the government was ready for a discussion in Parliament on “every issue”, while accusing the Congress of deliberately disrupting proceedings.“The government is ready for discussion in Parliament on every issue, but Congress is obstructing the temple of democracy, Parliament House, and crushing the interests of the country and the youth,” he said.Pradhan alleged that the Opposition’s objective was political, rather than addressing issues concerning the country and young people. He also accused Congress leaders of creating “chaos” outside Parliament when discussions are held inside the House.Turning the spotlight on the JMM-Congress government in Jharkhand, Pradhan accused it of following a policy of “selective democracy” over the handling of student protests.
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“Congress’s democracy is also ‘selective’-violence against youth where they are in government, and lies and commotion where they want to shine politically,” he said, referring to the use of lathi-charge, water cannons and tear gas against protesting students in Jharkhand.Pradhan also questioned Lok Sabha LoP Rahul’s silence on the Jharkhand protests, saying the Congress leader holds press conferences on “every issue” but has not spoken about the student agitation.“The youth of the country have fully understood this duplicitous character of the Congress,” Pradhan said, adding that there was “no place for dictatorship in democracy”.His remarks came days after he stepped down as Union education minister following prolonged student protests in New Delhi and across the country over the NEET-UG paper-leak fiasco.
