Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched a fresh attack on the BJP and the RSS in the Lok Sabha, saying former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan “never ran the Education Ministry, the RSS did”, days after Pradhan’s resignation.
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Claiming that the country’s education system was under ideological influence, the Leader of the Opposition said, “Our education system is cruel, there is rampant privatisation; the soul of the system has been captured by the RSS.”
Gandhi’s remarks triggered an uproar in the House after he referred to “three categories of people — students, idiots and andhbhakts”, prompting protests from members of the ruling NDA, who termed the language “unparliamentary”.
Explaining the remark, Gandhi said he was recalling a conversation with an 18-year-old student during the recent student protests. “The student told me there are three categories of people — students, the idiots, and then the andhbhakts,” Gandhi said. He went on to add, “An andhbhakt is a person who is absolutely convinced that another idiot is God.”
Hitting back, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju interrupted the speech and flagged issues with it.
“We don’t want to disrupt your speech, but you used unparliamentary language…you continue, but don’t use that language,” said Rijiju.
Amid the uproar in the house, Gandhi addressed Birla, calling on him to keep the house in order.
“To keep the house in order is your responsibility; the moment I open my mouth, treasury benches shout,” said the Congress MP.
