NEW DELHI: Launching a scathing attack on the Congress over its protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official residence, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Wednesday accused Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi of abandoning democratic decorum in favour of “political theatrics” and exploiting the concerns of students for partisan politics.
The sharp criticism came after Rahul Gandhi and several INDIA bloc leaders staged a demonstration near the Prime Minister’s residence over the alleged NEET paper leak issue, an act that Sai described as “contrary to democratic dignity” and “reprehensible.”
Taking strong exception to the protest, Sai said that a person occupying the constitutional office of the Leader of the Opposition is expected to uphold democratic values rather than indulge in political spectacles.
“The behaviour displayed by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha outside the Prime Minister’s residence is contrary to democratic dignity and highly reprehensible. Such political stunts are absolutely not expected from a person holding such an important constitutional position,” Sai said.
कल लोकसभा में नेता प्रतिपक्ष श्री राहुल गांधी जी ने प्रधानमंत्री जी के आवास के बाहर जैसा आचरण किया, वह लोकतांत्रिक गरिमा के प्रतिकूल और निंदनीय है। ऐसे राजनीतिक स्टंट की अपेक्षा नेता प्रतिपक्ष जैसे पद पर बैठे व्यक्ति से तो बिल्कुल नहीं होती।
NEET पेपर लीक जैसी समस्या पर केंद्र…
— Vishnu Deo Sai (@vishnudsai) July 22, 2026
Rejecting the Congress’s allegations that the Centre had failed to address concerns over examination integrity, the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister asserted that the Narendra Modi government had acted decisively from the very beginning.
According to Sai, the Centre treated the NEET paper leak as an issue of national importance, initiating stringent action against those responsible while simultaneously strengthening safeguards to restore public confidence in the examination system.
“The central government is already extremely serious about issues like the NEET paper leak. Strict action has been taken against the culprits. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself described the paper leak as a ‘sin’ and assured the country that those responsible would not be spared,” he said.
Sai further emphasised that the government ensured complete transparency in the subsequent conduct of the examination, adding that the results had also been declared after following due procedures.
“The government is fully committed to ensuring transparency in the examination system. The examination was conducted again with complete transparency, and the results have already been announced,” he said.
Escalating his criticism, Sai accused the Congress of attempting to derive political mileage from students’ concerns rather than contributing constructively to resolving the issue.
He alleged that instead of acknowledging the government’s corrective measures, the opposition was deliberately fuelling unrest by using agitating students as a political shield. “It is regrettable that the Congress is once again trying to spread anarchy in the country by taking cover behind some youth on this pretext,” Sai remarked.
The Chief Minister suggested that the protest was less about seeking justice for students and more about manufacturing political confrontation against the Modi government.
Sai also questioned the opposition’s decision to stage a protest outside the Prime Minister’s official residence, pointing out that the area is subject to stringent security restrictions due to the sensitivity of the location.
He argued that demonstrations in such high-security zones undermine democratic norms rather than strengthen them. “The act carried out by the opposition outside the Prime Minister’s residence in a restricted area is contrary to the dignity of democracy,” he said.
Warning against what he termed the normalisation of such political conduct, Sai asserted that the people of the country would reject attempts to undermine democratic institutions through confrontation and spectacle. “The people of the country will not tolerate this,” he added.
Sai reiterated that constitutional positions carry responsibilities and that political disagreements must remain within the framework of democratic propriety rather than devolving into what he described as publicity-driven confrontations.
