Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday criticised the removal of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar, where he had been on a hunger strike, and accused the Centre of attempting to suppress voices highlighting issues affecting students across the country.
In a post on X, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said the “core tenets” of the Narendra Modi government were ‘asatya’ (falsehood) and ‘hinsa’ (violence). “The removal of Sonam Wangchuk ji from Jantar Mantar while he was on a non-violent hunger strike is wrong,” Gandhi said.
Linking Wangchuk’s protest to wider concerns over the education system, Gandhi said paper leaks, the rising cost of education and student suicides were among the most pressing challenges facing India’s future.
“No amount of force can deter India’s students, and those of us who love and believe in them, from raising these issues,” he said, using the hashtag #ChhatronKiGoonj.
Gandhi's remarks came a day after he addressed the “Chhatron Ki Goonj” rally in Dehradun, where he demanded sweeping reforms in India’s education and examination system. He had argued that no political party or organisation should control educational institutions and called for a broad political consensus to tackle recurring paper leaks.
At the rally, Gandhi alleged that nearly 7.5 crore students had been affected by examination paper leaks, claiming that the problem stemmed from a “corrupt system” involving multiple stakeholders, including coaching centres, examination centres, paper setters, transporters, the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Union education ministry.
He also advocated overhauling the country’s examination system, describing the existing model as outdated and excessively focused on testing rather than students.
According to him, the current examiner-centric and government-centric approach should be replaced with a student-centric framework featuring secure question banks and technology-enabled randomised question papers, similar to international standardised tests like the GMAT.
Earlier on Saturday, Gandhi also shared a video from the Dehradun rally, recalling his interaction with Rajesh Kumar, the father of Riya Kumari who died by suicide after the cancellation of the NEET-UG examination in May amid allegations of a paper leak.
Calling it a tragedy that extends beyond a single family, Gandhi said every student lost to such failures leaves behind parents whose hopes and sacrifices have been shattered. He said the education system must be rebuilt “from scratch” to create an environment where children feel secure rather than burdened by stress, and where parents see their sacrifices rewarded.
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