New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘idiots’ remark sparked an uproar in the Lok Sabha on 29 July, with Union Minister Kiren Rijiju urging the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) to refrain from using ‘unparliamentary’ words.
Rahul Gandhi also targeted Home Minister Amit Shah over the recent police action against protesters in New Delhi, drawing strong objections from ruling party members, who demanded an apology from the Rae Bareli Member of Parliament (MP).
The LoP was quoting a student as saying that she said that there are three categories of people – students who learn, want to gain knowledge and accept others’ truth, the ‘idiots’ who do not listen to others, and the andhbakts (blind loyalists.)
“I asked what the goal of a student is? She said that the student runs after the truth, which is sweet. Like Gandhiji said that the windows of a house are open. I asked her, then what about the idiot? She said, Gandhi said recalling a conversation with an 18-year-old girl student.
Gandhi was speaking during a discussion on the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026.
“She said the student wears the truth on his/her chest proudly. I said, what about the other type? She said the other type requires an image. It requires an image, and as the image is not true because the idiot is trying to pretend that he is God, he has to create this massive image. I asked her a question: where does the third category go? That of ‘Andhbhakt’. She said, ‘Andhbhakt’ is a person who is absolutely convinced that another idiot is God,” Gandhi said.
Amid the uproar by ruling alliance MPs, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju called ‘idiot’ unparliamentary and urged Rahu Gandhi to avoid using the word. “We do not want to disturb your speech. I request you to continue the speech but avoid the word,’ Rijiju said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also intervened and requested speaker Om Birla to enpunge ‘idiots’ word. Rahul Gandhi kept insisting that he did not refer to any individual in his remarks.
As Rahul continued his speech, the ruling MPs once again objected when he attacked Home Minister Amit Shah and blamed him for ordering police excesses on student protesters during the Cockroach Janta Party’s 20 July March in New Delhi.
“Home Minister not here in Parliament because he is scared,” Rahul Gandhi said.
Kiren Rijiju intervened again and demanded an apology from Rahul Gandhi for false allegations made during his speech against the Home Minister.
“Can I say that Rahul Gandhi has murdered someone? Can I say that? You have to give the basis for saying something,” Rijiju said. Rijiju asserted that the government would not allow the House to function until Gandhi either apologised or explained the basis of his statement.
Congress party members protested accusing Birla of not allowing Rahul speak. Birla responding to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks.
“Unless you have a basis to say what you said, it can’t be taken on record,” he said. Shah was not present in Lok Sabha. Later, house was adjourned till 2.30 pm.
On Tuesday, speaking on the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, Union minister Jitendra Singh said the Narendra Modi government completed an unfinished task by bringing a law to prevent examination malpractices in 2024.
The government introduced the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday, days after student protests over the NEET fiasco led to Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as education minister, to provide for stricter punishment of up to 10 years in jail and a heftier fine of ₹50 lakh for paper leaks.
“I was very excited, reassured by what the future of this country did on our streets. This was not anger, not violence, not hatred. This was a deep expression of the youth of this country, the future generation of this country, and I feel that all political parties must respect this expression, including my friends in the BJP,” Gandhi said on Wednesday.
“I am pretty certain that if my friends in the BJP were to go and ask their own children what they felt about what their brothers and sisters were doing, they would find agreement among their own children. There is nothing wrong with what has happened, and every Indian should be proud,” Gandhi said.
Meanwhile, it is gathered that the reported remarks of Rahul Gandhi were expunged from the record by the Lok Sabha Speaker to ensure decorum of the House.
