Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has strongly criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to appoint Prahlad Joshi as the country’s new Education Minister, alleging that the government has entrusted the ministry to someone who defended the release of convicted rapists.
The remarks came on Tuesday, July 28, following the resignation of former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan earlier this week amid sustained protests led by young people over issues related to the education system. Prahlad Joshi was subsequently appointed to head the ministry.
Addressing the appointment, Gandhi said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government had placed its trust in “someone who protected rapists.”
His criticism stems from Joshi’s comments regarding the controversial release of 11 men convicted in the 2002 Bilkis Bano case. During the 2002 Gujarat riots, Bilkis Bano was gang-raped while several members of her family were murdered. The convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment by a court.
The process leading to their early release began in 2018, and in 2022 the Gujarat government ordered their remission, prompting widespread public outrage across India. At the time, Joshi defended the decision, arguing that the convicts had spent a long period in prison and that legal provisions existed allowing for their release.
However, in January 2024, the Supreme Court of India declared the Gujarat government’s remission order invalid and directed that all 11 convicts return to prison.
Referring to Joshi’s earlier defense of the remission, Gandhi described him as a “protector of rapists.”
“Look at India’s Education Minister,” Gandhi said. “After so many protests by young people over the education system, the BJP has appointed a person who protects rapists. Those who protect rapists are among the worst people. When someone argues that rapists deserve protection, there can be nothing more shameful. Yet that person is now India’s Education Minister.”
Gandhi also questioned Prime Minister Modi’s choice, saying it was a “surprising decision.”
“There are many people in his Cabinet who could have been appointed Education Minister,” Gandhi said. “Instead, he chose someone who defended rapists. It is unbelievable.”
