Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticized the removal of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk from Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Saturday. Wangchuk had been on a hunger strike there. Gandhi accused the central government of trying to silence voices on problems affecting students nationwide.
In a post on X, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha described the Modi government’s main principles as falsehood and violence. He called the removal of Wangchuk during a non-violent protest unjustified.
Wangchuk began fasting on June 28 to back a Cockroach Janta Party movement over claimed irregularities in the NEET exam and student deaths tied to the issue. Organizers confirmed the July 20 march to Parliament will proceed. Delhi Police took Wangchuk to hospital early Saturday based on medical advice and a Delhi High Court order.
Gandhi connected the protest to broader education concerns, naming paper leaks, rising education costs and student suicides as key challenges for India’s youth. He stated that force would not stop students and supporters from raising these matters, using the hashtag #ChhatronKiGoonj.
His comments followed his address at a rally in Dehradun the previous day, where he called for major changes to India’s education and exam systems. Gandhi argued no political group should control educational institutions and urged cross-party agreement to address repeated paper leaks.
At the event, he claimed nearly 7.5 crore students had suffered from exam paper leaks caused by a corrupt system involving coaching centres, exam sites, paper setters, transporters, the National Testing Agency and the Union education ministry.
Gandhi also pushed for an overhaul of the exam model, which he said is outdated and overly focused on testing. He recommended shifting from an examiner- and government-centred system to a student-focused one with secure question banks and technology-driven random papers, similar to tests like the GMAT.
Earlier Saturday, Gandhi shared a video from the Dehradun rally recalling his meeting with Rajesh Kumar, father of Riya Kumari, who died by suicide after the NEET-UG exam was cancelled in May amid leak allegations. He described the incident as a wider tragedy affecting families and called for rebuilding the education system from the ground up to reduce stress on students and honour parental sacrifices.
