Amit Shah authorised pellet guns on students, will raise issue in Parliament: Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday called Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation a victory for students and the future of India, but warned the government that the protest was only the beginning of a much deeper crisis, saying similar developments could unfold on a scale “ten times larger” if it continued to ignore the people.

The Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition also directly held Union Home Minister Amit Shah responsible for the violence against students, alleging that he had authorised the use of lethal weapons, including pellet guns, against them.

“We hold Mr Amit Shah directly responsible for the violence that has taken place against our students. He authorised the shooting of our students. He authorised the use of lethal weapons, including pellet guns, against our students,” Rahul Gandhi said.

“For us, this is a fundamental issue. We will not accept our own forces shooting at the future of India. This will be a major issue in Parliament,” he added.

'THIS IS THE VICTORY OF STUDENTS'

Rahul Gandhi said the resignation was a victory for the students who had taken to the streets and described them as the future of the country.

“This is their victory, those who are the future of India,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi said India's education system had once been a source of pride and was recognised across the world, but had been under attack for years.

“Our education system, which used to be our pride, which the whole world acknowledged as being very good, has been under attack for years. It is being captured and privatised,” he said.

He said the student protests were a reaction not only to the state of the education system but also to unemployment and the wider situation in the country.

“This was a reaction to unemployment. It was a reaction to the situation that India is in today,” Rahul Gandhi said.

'PRADHAN WAS A SYMBOL OF CORRUPTION'

Rahul Gandhi described Dharmendra Pradhan as a symbol of the problems facing India's education system.

“Pradhan is a symbol. A symbol of corruption, a symbol of the destruction of the education system, a symbol of incompetence,” he said.

“He had to go and it is good that he went,” Rahul Gandhi added.

However, he said the government's responsibility did not end with the Education Minister's resignation and that concrete steps were now needed to change the education system.

“But now the government will have to take concrete steps to change the education system,” he said.

RAHUL TARGETS RSS OVER 'CAPTURE' OF EDUCATION SYSTEM

Rahul Gandhi accused the RSS of capturing India's education system and hollowing it out from within.

“The RSS's capture of the education system of India is a very big issue. If it is Modi ji's fault, then the RSS is equally at fault,” he said.

“The RSS has done the thinking behind it. It has hollowed out our education system from within. They have attacked knowledge,” Rahul Gandhi added.

He said the education system needed “deep steps” to be taken to repair the damage.

“Our education system has been hollowed out from within. So, deep steps will have to be taken,” he said.

TWO STUDENT DEMANDS STILL REMAIN

Rahul Gandhi said the two remaining demands of the students must not be forgotten.

The first, he said, was action against both the organisers and implementers who attacked, assaulted and beat students.

“The first demand is that action should be taken against both the implementers and organisers who attacked, assaulted and beat the students, and that action should be visible,” Rahul Gandhi said.

“The students should see that these people have been punished for this reason,” he added.

The second demand, he said, was an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Secondly, the main operator of the system, Narendra Modi ji, should apologise to the students of India,” Rahul Gandhi said.

He also reiterated that the students had demanded an apology from the Prime Minister.

'WE HOLD AMIT SHAH DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE'

Rahul Gandhi said he held Amit Shah directly responsible for the violence against students and accused him of authorising the use of lethal weapons.

“He authorised the shooting of our students. He authorised the use of lethal weapons, including pellet guns, against our students,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi said the issue would become a major point of discussion in Parliament.

“We will not accept our own forces shooting at the future of India. This will be a major issue in Parliament,” he said.

'INDIA'S SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED'

Rahul Gandhi said the student protest was a symptom of a wider crisis, claiming that India's job creation, education, institutional and media systems had been damaged.

“The deeper reason behind this protest is that India's job creation system, education system, institutional system and media system have been destroyed. They have ceased to function effectively,” he said.

He linked the situation to the country's economic challenges.

“There are consequences to this. We are now facing a serious economic crisis. During times of serious economic crisis, these systems become even more important,” Rahul Gandhi said.

He said the government needed to understand that the protest was only one part of a much deeper problem.

“What has happened here is just one step in a much deeper problem,” he said.

'THIS IS A WARNING FROM STUDENTS AND OPPOSITION'

Rahul Gandhi warned the government against continuing to run the country in the same manner.

“The government needs to start listening to what the people of India are saying. This is a warning to them. This is a warning from the students of India and from the Opposition,” he said.

“You cannot run India in the way you have been running it. This is not your personal fiefdom. This is not something that belongs to you,” Rahul Gandhi added.

“This country belongs to the people of India. It belongs to the Constitution of India. All these institutions do not belong to you,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi warned that if the government continued on its current path, the protests could become much larger.

“If you continue down this path, you will see that what has happened now will happen on a scale ten times larger. That is the basic message,” he said.

'FUTURE OF INDIA WILL DEFEAT THE PAST'

Rahul Gandhi thanked the students who had participated in the protests and promised them his support.

“I want to thank all the students from the bottom of my heart and whatever support they need from my side, wherever they need support, I am ready,” he said.

He said the Congress had supported the protests to protect students and the future of the country.

“Congress party's idea with the protest was to support it wholeheartedly. We supported it and we are here to protect the students of India, to protect the future of India,” Rahul Gandhi said.

“This is a fight between the past, which is Narendra Modi and the RSS, and the future of India. And we are very confident that the future of India will defeat the past,” he added.