Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has demanded Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s immediate apology over the statement that Cockroach Janata Party protesters are a “B-team of terrorists”.
The Rae Bairelly MP has said the Modi government was drowning in the "arrogance of power" and that the education minister's comments came as no surprise.
"Farmers, the nation's food providers, were called 'professional agitators and parasites'. Those who ask questions were branded 'anti-national'. And now, the youth are being called 'terrorists'", Rahul said.
"Anyone who questions the government—label them a traitor; that's the entirety of their politics," the Congress MP added, demanding that Pradhan issue an immediate apology to students.
In an interview to NDTV on Tuesday, Pradhan was asked about the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar and their demands for his resignation.
Responding to the question, he said, "They are the B-team of terrorists. The people who were rejected by the public have come back in another disguise."
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke on Wednesday accused the minister of insulting the country's youth. Dipke and CJP supporters have been staging a sit-in at Jantar Mantar for the past five days.
"This is our education minister, who calls the country's youth terrorists. I want to remind him that individuals who cause the deaths of others are called terrorists. You are the reason for the deaths of over 17 students who had to commit suicide," Dipke alleged.
"Sir, we are not terrorists. We don't need a certificate of patriotism from people like you who are responsible for the deaths of innocent students," Dipke added.
In another post on X, Dipke wrote, "Dharmendra Pradhan calls us terrorists. But the irony is that he is the one with the blood of more than 17 students on his hands."
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also castigated the minister over his "terrorist" remark directed at student protesters.
"Ninety paper leaks have occurred, the futures of millions of students have been ruined, 20 children have taken their own lives due to the NEET paper leak, families have been devastated..." Kharge said, saying that Pradhan was clinging to his chair.
Kharge also accused the government of branding critics and dissenters as anti-national, arguing that the same approach was now being extended to students.
The Congress on Thursday announced a nationwide campaign from June 30 seeking Pradhan's resignation over the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak and demanding a comprehensive overhaul of the country's examination system.
The first phase of the 40-day campaign, titled 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' (Voice of Students), will culminate in a "Delhi Chalo" protest march on August 9, party leader Satej Patil said.
Addressing a news conference, Patil alleged that repeated examination irregularities had undermined students' faith in the examination system and jeopardised the future of lakhs of aspirants.
The Maharashtra legislator said nearly 23 lakh students appeared for NEET after years of preparation, but only around two lakh would eventually secure admission to medical, dental, AYUSH and allied courses.
"They talk about running a country of 130 crore people, but they cannot even conduct an examination properly for 23 lakh students. It is such a tedious exam, and they are failing to conduct it properly," the former Maharashtra minister said.
He argued that the issue extended beyond paper leaks and re-examinations and had severely eroded students' faith in the system.
"The confidence students had that they would get marks based on what they studied is gone. That trust has been shattered. This is a massive trust deficit among the youth of the entire country," he said.
Joining the chorus, Kerala higher education minister Roji M. John demanded Pradhan's resignation, alleging that the National Testing Agency (NTA) had become a "symbol of corruption and mismanagement".
In a Facebook post, John claimed there had been 89 question paper leaks and 48 re-examinations over the past decade, holding the NTA responsible for eroding the credibility of India's examination system.
"The NTA has become a symbol of corruption and mismanagement. The Central government has mortgaged the hard work of lakhs of students to examination mafias," John alleged.
Referring to Rahul Gandhi's protests in Kota and allegations raised by a student named Sarthak regarding discrepancies in CBSE examinations, John said the incidents pointed not to technical glitches but to corruption within examination boards and the structural collapse of the country's education system.
"Merely banning Telegram will not restore the credibility that has been lost," he said.