Published Jul 25, 2026 | 4:21 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 25, 2026 | 4:21 PM
Priyanka Gandhi at Wayanad. (Special Arrangement)
Hailing the resilience of India’s students following the high-profile exit of Union Cabinet Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra remarked that the nationwide youth uprising has proved that “with courage in your heart, one could achieve anything.”
Speaking from Wayanad, where she is currently visiting the site of the Kalladi debris collapse that claimed three lives, Priyanka praised the relentless determination of young protesters who stood firm despite facing heavy state resistance.
Recalling the intense crackdown on demonstrations, she noted:
“To stifle them, the government used water cannons, pellet guns, and brutally caned them, but they hung on to achieve their goal. Due to their determination, the BJP government had to bend.”
Emphasising the unified front put up by the opposition, Gandhi expressed pride in her brother, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, for standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the protesting youth.
“This is a victory of students, young people. They led the fight, and they won it,” Priyanka asserted, framing the political fallout and subsequent cabinet exit as a historic win for student activism over administrative high-handedness.
Pradhan had earlier taken to X and announced his resignation on the 35th day of the student protests that had begun by demanding his resignation for the paper leak during the NEET exam. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi had subsequently highlighted that there have been 152 paper leaks in the past 10 years.
On Saturday, a little before Pradhan’s resignation, Rahul had insisted that the students were adamant that the Education Minister, who was “corrupt, incompetent and misaligned”, had to go.
He also stressed that the students wanted the “organisers and implementers of the violence” against them during the protests to be held accountable.
“The third (demand) is that the leader of this whole machinery, Narendra Modi, needs to apologise to the students,” Rahul announced, adding, “The person who is the main chief in charge must apologise to the educational institutes/students for them being beaten, assaulted, and disrespected.”
With the last two demands still pending, it will be interesting to see if the government has bought its peace.
Meanwhile, details of a new bill that the Prime Minister had said would ensure swifter and stricter punishment for paper leak accused began to do the rounds.
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(With inputs from Dileep V Kumar.)
