The political standoff between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition parties went up a notch on Saturday after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi again criticised Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, following the latest selfie video posted by the latter, in which he was seen heaping pardon on the youths who abused him amid the ongoing protests linked to NEET UG 2026 paper leak controversy. 

Reacting to PM Modi’s remarks addressing the NEET protest row, Gandhi asserted that he (PM Modi) owed students an ‘apology’, not ‘forgiveness.’ He further alleged that the Union government had failed thousands of students whose academic futures had been disrupted by recurring exam irregularities and back-to-back paper leaks. 

He argued that the emotional and financial burden borne by the affected students and their kin demanded accountability rather than symbolic gestures. 

Gandhi posts statement on ‘X’

Taking to his official ‘X’ handle, the senior Congress leader said there was nothing ‘more painful than seeing a parent grieve their child,’ adding that every young life lost left behind a family carrying irreversible pain while exposing deep flaws in the country’s education system. 

In his post, he referred to repeated allegations of examination malpractice, claiming that leaked question papers, cancelled examinations and years of dedicated preparation had shattered the aspirations of innumerable students. 

“Students worked honestly in a dishonest system,” opines Gandhi

Gandhi furthered his attack on PM Modi and his government, asserting that young aspirants had been asked to compete fairly in a system that had repeatedly failed to protect the integrity of competitive examinations. 

He remarked, “Our students are told to work honestly in a system that is not honest with them. And the Prime Minister has the audacity to speak of 'forgiving' students.” Thereafter, he questioned Modi’s response to the controversy, alleging that the PM had neither met parents grieving the loss of their children nor interacted with students whose futures had allegedly been derailed by exam paper leaks. 

Gandhi wrote, “"He has not met a single grieving parent. He has not sat with a single student whose future was stolen by a leaked paper. India's students do not need his forgiveness. They are owed his apology." 

PM Modi calls protestors ‘misguided kids’

Gandhi’s attack came a day after PM Modi released a video on Instagram, responding to the controversy surrounding the NEET UG 2026 paper leak protests. In the video, PM Modi said he wished to forgive students who allegedly used abusive language against him and his late mother during demonstrations at Jantar Mantar. 

Terming them ‘misguided kids,’ PM Modi urged society to guide youngsters rather than punish them for mistakes committed in their youth. He said such errors should serve as opportunities for learning instead of becoming reasons for lifelong condemnation. 

He also appealed to students to focus on their aspirations and contribute towards nation-building, asserting that India’s future rested in the hands of its youth.