Rahul Gandhi urges Hemant Soren to meet students; slams PM Modi, NTA

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday sought to do a political balancing act over students' concerns about examination irregularities by asking ally, Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, to meet agitating students in Ranchi even as he criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the National Testing Agency (NTA) over the cancellation and re-examination of certain UGC-NET June exams due to questionnaire issue.

Maintaining that the Jharkhand students' demands are "legitimate" and appreciating the state government's efforts to initiate a dialogue with them, Gandhi told Soren: "However, the protests continue and some students remain on an indefinite hunger strike. I am writing to suggest that you personally meet with the representatives of the protesting students. This will help reinforce the government's commitment to resolve their remaining concerns".

Gandhi's letter comes amid criticism over how Congress can support the protesting students while remaining part of the Soren government, which ordered a lathi-charge on them. On the UGC-NET issue, Gandhi said in a social media post: "NTA still won't answer the real question - were these papers leaked before the exam?... Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation was the first step, not the last. NTA's leadership must be held accountable too."


Reiterating his charge that the education system has become an "extraction machine" for taking students' money and years, he said: "PM Modi built a system that cannot run an exam and then blames the students who take it."