A heated exchange broke out during a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, according to sources. Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, made remarks over the management of Sainik Schools, on which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded evidence.
Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Sainik Schools were being “privatised,” with their management being handed over to institutions linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). A BJP MP strongly contested the claim, pushing back against Gandhi and demanding that he substantiate the allegations with facts and documentary evidence rather than making unverified assertions.
The exchange triggered a sharp round of discussion among committee members, with both sides sticking to their positions during the meeting.
Amid the disagreement, Committee Chairman Radha Mohan Singh is learnt to have intervened, stating that the panel would seek detailed information from the government on the role of private institutions in the functioning and management of Sainik Schools. “Please provide all documents related to your claim. We will send them to the concerned ministry for clarification,” Radha Mohan reportedly said.
Gandhi reportedly left the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence meeting to attend another event while the meeting was still underway. On being asked about the Parliamentary Panel meeting, Rahul Gandhi said, “I am not allowed to say what happened in the meeting.”
The meeting was attended by Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Pawan Khera, TMC MP Mohua Moitra, BJP MP Radha Mohan Singh, BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram and several other Members of Parliament.
Rahul Gandhi, later in the day, attended the launch of the book ‘Vaiko in Parliament’. Gandhi said that the students of the country are in “severe pain” and they don’t need Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s forgiveness but his apology for his government’s actions against them.
Speaking at the book launch event, the leader of the opposition said that the students are on the streets because of the RSS’ attempts to change the country’s history, adding that “India will not tolerate its history to be trampled upon by anybody”.
Gandhi said every state has the right to be treated fairly and express its own culture and language, but the “RSS wants that only the history subscribed by it should be followed and that is why the fight”.