Rahul Gandhi says Dharmendra Pradhan ‘incapable’ of being education minister; no mention of CJP in speech

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday said that union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan is incapable of holding the post anymore and “should be shown the door”.Gandhi appeared on stage wearing a black band on his right arm, in line with the Opposition's all-black appearance in Parliament today as it sought a discussion on the NEET-UG paper leak in House.Also read | Why was TMC's Kalyan Banerjee suspended from Lok Sabha for rest of Monsoon Session?Lashing out at the government, Rahul Gandhi defended the students' outrage over paper leaks. However, there was no mention of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in Gandhi's speech. The outfit, created as a satire, is now the face of a huge student-led protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar and seeks the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan. Follow live updates on the CJP protest here‘Education system rigged’Rahul Gandhi said that the education system was rigged and everyone was aware of it. He also claimed that 152 paper leaks have taken place over the past 10 years, which amounts to an average of one leak per month. “What we do know is that 152 paper leaks have taken place over the last decade. If you do the math. So one a month approx,” Gandhi said. He also claimed that zero convictions have taken place over the decade despite the amount of irregularities in examinations. “7.5 crore students and their families are affected by this. These are middle class and poor families. They put their hard earned money into this and then they literally spat on,” Gandhi said.Also read | CJP now has a fourth demand, says spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka. Here's what it isHe also reiterated and backed the three big demands by students:Resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan.Everyone who assaulted students must be held accountable.PM Modi must apologise to students.On detention outside PM Modi's homeResponding to questions regarding the police action against him during a demonstration outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi says he would be “happy to receive more punches”.Also read | CJP's mega protest: A blow-by-blow account of what happened on Monday"It is true that the policemen dragged me a little but they were whispering in my ear to remove this government. One of them said, “I am from Rajasthan, we're just wearing uniform. The second one is saying, I am from Haryana, remove them. So that sentiment is there and everybody knows the truth. Those people have to accept the order, so they are doing it. But even police is not happy about what has happened,” Gandhi said during the presser.He said it was “irrelavant” what to happened to him, and diverted attention to students who faced a crackdown from the police during protests.Rahul Gandhi was taken to the Chhatrasal stadium in Model Town after his detention, but was released a few hours later. Priyanka Gandhi and some other MPs were taken to the Mandir Marg police station, where Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi visited them.