Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Modi government over the nationwide student protests, accusing it of responding to demands for accountability and education reforms with "cowardice and wanton cruelty". In an article published in The Hindu, she alleged the Centre had degraded India's education system through underinvestment, privatisation and a dysfunctional examination regime, while using police force to suppress dissent. Gandhi also renewed her demand for accountability over paper leaks and criticised the government's handling of the National Testing Agency and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's refusal to accept responsibility.