PM Modi vows 'won't harm youth's future', Rahul Gandhi says 'you're the one doing that'

PM Modi's earlier post said “welfare and future of the youth” was the foremost priority, and said those who had tried to harm it would “not be spared.”

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government of harming the future of the country's youth.

"You are the one who has harmed the future of our youth the most," Rahul Gandhi said. (X/ @RahulGandhi)

"You are the one who has harmed the future of our youth the most. You allowed and encouraged the total capture and destruction of our education system - and protected every person responsible for it", the leader of the opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha posted on his official X account. PM Modi's earlier post said “welfare and future of the youth” was the foremost priority, and said those who had tried to harm it would “not be spared.”

Gandhi reiterated the students' demands, seeking the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

"1. Sack Dharmendra Pradhan. 2. Apologise to the students. 3. Take action against those who assaulted them," he wrote.

On Wednesday evening, Gandhi held a press conference and termed these demands as non-negotiable, hardening his stand amid the impasse in Parliament.

Congress' general secretary for communication Jairam Ramesh also echoed similar sentiments.

"The PM does not have the courage to stand up in Parliament, speak and engage in serious debate like all his predecessors did when the occasion demanded," he wrote.

"This morning he has put out a social media post to show that he is concerned with the issues being raised by students across the country. Actually, the post such as it is demonstrates that he is shaken and rattled," Ramesh said, adding "Vote Chori, Seat Chori, Chanda Chori, Exam Paper Chori…. the list goes on and on."

Tens of thousands of agitators marched to Parliament in central Delhi on Monday demanding the resignation of Union education minister Pradhan over repeated paper leaks and exam irregularities, following a 23-day-old sit-in hunger strike at Jantar Mantar.