Rahul Gandhi Criticises New Education Minister Pralhad Joshi Over Past Remarks on Bilkis Bano Case
New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday criticised the government for appointing Pralhad Joshi as the Union Education Minister, drawing attention to Joshi’s earlier defence of the release of convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case.
Speaking to media outside Parliament, Gandhi said that Joshi’s remarks defending the premature release of the 11 men convicted in the 2002 Bilkis Bano gangrape case made him an unsuitable choice for the ministry. He described Joshi as a “defender of rapists” and called his appointment a “strange reaction” from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“After the young people protested against the education system, after so many girls were beaten up during the protests, BJP puts up a man who is the defender of rapists. That is the most filthy type of man. There can be no filthier man than somebody who says that rapists need protection,” Gandhi said.
Pralhad Joshi, then Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, had in 2022 defended the Gujarat government’s decision to grant remission to the 11 convicts. Speaking to The Indian Express, Joshi had said, “Whatever is done is as per the legal provision. After one spends required time in jail, there is a provision to get free. In this case, that provision, which is absolutely legal, has been done.”
The release of the convicts had sparked widespread public and political backlash. The Supreme Court later quashed the remission, calling it an “abuse of discretion.”
Joshi was given charge of the Education Ministry on Saturday, hours after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned from the post. Pradhan’s resignation came after a month-long agitation by the Cockroach Janta Party over the NEET paper leak and a crackdown on the ‘Chalo Sansad’ march. The central government delegation, including Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh, held multiple rounds of talks with the party spokespersons, after which the protest at Jantar Mantar was called off.
The Congress leader’s remarks come amid ongoing political debate over the government’s handling of education and law and order issues.
