Jairam Ramesh moves privilege motion against Pradhan

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Monday said he has moved a notice of privilege in the Rajya Sabha against Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, alleging that his remarks on a parliamentary standing committee amounted to lowering the dignity of Parliament and its committees.

In a post on X, Ramesh said he had submitted a notice under Rule 187 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States.

"I have given notice of a question of privilege under Rule 187 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States against the Union Minister of Education for having lowered the dignity of Parliament and Parliamentary Committees," Ramesh wrote.

He further alleged that the remarks were made while the Minister was "presiding over the rot in the Education Ministry that is destroying the future of lakhs of youth across the country."

The privilege notice pertains to comments made by Pradhan during a press interaction on the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak issue, when he was asked about the ministry's response to recommendations made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education.

According to the notice, Pradhan had said, "I will not comment on Parliament Standing Committee red flags. I will speak about the High-Level Committee of Experts (HLCE)/Radhakrishnan Committee. The Parliament Standing Committee has members from the opposition. They write things in a certain manner, you also know that. Hence, I won't speak on the standing committee."

Ramesh termed the remarks "outrageous" and "highly derogatory", saying they undermined parliamentary institutions.