Published Jul 25, 2026 | 2:12 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 25, 2026 | 2:24 PM
Rahul Gandhi at a press conference he addressed with student protesters on Saturday. (Screengrab)
The sacking of Dharmendra Pradhan as Education Minister and an apology from the Prime Minister to the students are non-negotiable demands, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said at a press conference he addressed with student protesters on Saturday.
Rahul said he met the students and they had spoken about the protest movement, the RSS and the capture of India’s education system.
“Our students have three non-negotiable demands,” he told those who had assembled.
“The first demand is that the Education Minister, who is corrupt, incompetent and misaligned, has to be sacked. There is some talk in the Modi cabinet—we get information these days from the government—that the solution is to move Dharmendra Pradhan to some other ministry. This is not acceptable to the students of India or to anybody. The reason is that Pradhan is a symbol of corruption and what has happened to the future of India’s children. He is a symbol of the destruction of the most valuable asset this country has: our students and their future. So, there is going to be no conversation about Pradhan being moved here, there, forward, backwards. Nothing. Pradhan has to be sacked. Period,” he said.
Rahul also showed a young woman protester whose legs had been injured and spoke of how thousands of students have had to endure lathi blows and pellet injuries before stating the second demand. “The people who have done this, the organisers and implementers, need to be made accountable,” he demanded.
Then came the final demand aimed at the Prime Minister.
“The third is that the leader of this whole machinery, Narendra Modi, needs to apologise to the students,” Rahul announced.
“The person who is the main chief in charge must apologise to the educational institutes/students for them being beaten, assaulted, and disrespected,” he insisted.
Rahul said that he had told the students not to worry and not to step back.
The leader of the Opposition said he told them “the entire Indian government, every single person in the Indian government cannot move you from there… Let them do as much as they want. If they want to shut things down, shut them down. If they want to intimidate, intimidate. Whatever they want to do, let them do it. These people are not going to step back. They are India’s future—take a good look at them. No one can fight this. Narendra Modi is India’s past. The past can never fight the future,” Rahul said.
The student protests that began with the demand for Pradhan’s resignation have entered the 35th day and are gathering momentum and international attention. The government has opened talks with the protesters but has yet to show signs of conceding to their primary demands.
Prime Minister Modi has posted two late-night videos early on Friday and Saturday night and promised a fast-track court to prosecute the accused and the tabling of a bill that will ensure harsh punishment for those found guilty of paper leaks. But he hasn’t addressed the protesters in any of the videos or addressed the issue of the Delhi Police crackdown on students during the Chalo Sansad march on July 20 that had drawn widespread condemnation.
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(Edited by R Rajesh Kumar.)
