- By Shubham Bajpai
- Tue, 28 Jul 2026 08:13 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
- Rahul Gandhi slammed Pralhad Joshi over Bilkis Bano remarks.
- Called Joshi a "defender of rapists" and insult to education.
- Priyanka Gandhi raised issue in Lok Sabha, causing ruckus.
Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday came down heavily on new interim Education Minister Pralhad Joshi over his alleged controversial remarks on the premature release of the accused in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case. While speaking to the media outside Parliament, Gandhi called him a 'defender of rapists.'
He said, "There can be no filthier type of man than one who defends rapists. That is the education minister of India today. It's strange. It is a strange reaction from the Prime Minister that there are so many ministers in his cabinet. But he chooses a person who protects rapists."
Sharing his statement in his X post, Gandhi wrote, "Pralhad Joshi is an insult to our education system and an insult to every student in it. Crores of young women study in the institutions he now oversees."
"India’s women will never accept PM Modi’s new Education Minister," he added.
Ruckus in Lok Sabha
Earlier, Congress's Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, while speaking in the Lok Sabha, raised the issue, triggering a brief commotion. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey quickly stood up and sought an apology from Priyanka. He also urged the Speaker to demand an apology.
Joshi, a five-time MP and one of the most experienced ministers in the Modi Cabinet, also stood up and protested the remark by Priyanka.
Notably, in 2022, 11 convicts were granted premature release. They were found guilty of gangraping Bilkis Bano, a pregnant woman, during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Reacting to their release, Joshi had defended the decision, citing existing laws. He had said, "When the government and the concerned people have taken the decision, I don't find anything wrong in it as it is a process of law."
"There are so many incidents, I don't want to get into that," Joshi had said. Later in 2024, the Supreme Court cancelled the premature release. The top court had ruled that the remission order lacked competence.