MUMBAI: In a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre, Maharashtra Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal on Friday asked why Prime Minister Narendra Modi has yet to meet fasting Ladakh social activist Sonam Wangchuk, despite the latter raising the same concerns over the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) paper leak as the Congress.
Speaking to the media, Sapkal strongly defended his party's stance, demanding the immediate resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Addressing queries over whether Congress Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi would meet Wangchuk, the Maharashtra party President redirected the focus toward the Central government's apathy.
He pointed out that Wangchuk has been on a hunger strike for the past 20 days over the NEET paper leak scandal, which has compromised the future of nearly 2.4 million students.
Sapkal reminded reporters that when Wangchuk previously protested for Ladakh's constitutional safeguards, the BJP government detained him under the National Security Act (NSA).
"The Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has not uttered a single word on the NEET issue in his 'Mann Ki Baat' address," he said, adding that trying to link the Congress to Wangchuk to deflect blame is "highly misleading".
Emphasising that the Union government is trivialising the mega student crisis, Sapkal noted that Rahul Gandhi has launched a nationwide campaign titled 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' (The Echo of Students) to fiercely push for the Union Education Minister's resignation.
Shifting focus to the Shiv Sena-UBT inviting Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat to their upcoming 'Ram Raksha' programme, the Maharashtra Congress President launched a direct assault on the ruling Maharashtra government-led alliance's religious credentials.
"The BJP and RSS follow the policy of 'Ram Naam Japna, Paraya Maal Apna' (Chanting Ram's name while pocketing others' wealth). The massive theft that took place at the Ayodhya's Ram Temple involves people directly appointed by the Narendra Modi government. The BJP and RSS are maintaining a guilty silence on this," Sapkal remarked.
He dismissed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the Ayodhya temple theft, calling it a "puppet of the BJP government" that would never catch the real culprits.
"If the Chief Minister and RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat have the courage, they should accept the invitation and attend Uddhav Thackeray's Ram Raksha event," he challenged.
When asked about the ongoing media speculation regarding internal friction within the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), the State Congress chief chose to downplay the rumours.
He said that top NCP-SP leaders, including Jayant Patil and MP Supriya Sule, have already clarified their party's firm position, and the media should rely on their official statements rather than rumours.
