The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday (July 28, 2026) termed as “condemnable” and “misleading and unacceptable” the remarks made by Lok Sabha MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Parliament on the newly appointed Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi, as well as the remarks later made outside the House by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi. Ms. Vadra’s remarks in Parliament were subsequently expunged by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

Lok Sabha MP Anil Baluni, the BJP’s media cell convenor, put out a strong statement on behalf of the party after the remarks were made.

“The misleading remarks made today in the Lok Sabha by Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra regarding Union Education Minister Prahlad Joshi, and the subsequent baseless comments by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi in support of Priyanka Vadra’s statement, are extremely unfortunate and condemnable. In a healthy democracy, such misleading and unwarranted remarks against a Union Minister on the floor of the House cannot be accepted,” Mr. Baluni said.

The reference made by Ms. Vadra and Mr. Gandhi to a comment by Mr. Joshi in the said matter was “completely incorrect”, he further said.

Mr. Joshi had, in fact, not made the remarks pertaining to the case of gangrape survivor Bilkis Bano, Mr. Baluni said. “The Union Education Minister, Prahlad Joshi, did not make any such statement. He had merely commented on the legal process and not on the matter itself,” Mr. Baluni added.

“Before making such statements, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra should have read and understood the facts properly. However, distorting statements for political convenience, misleading the country, and levelling baseless allegations has become a habit of the Congress party,” he said.

A war of words broke out between the BJP and the Congress during the debate in the Lok Sabha on the Public Examination (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which includes stringent provisions to punish those found leaking exam papers. While Ms. Vadra’s remarks were expunged by the Speaker, Mr. Gandhi, outside Parliament, referred to Mr. Joshi as “filthy” for the latter’s reported comments on the release of Ms. Bano’s rapists by the Gujarat government on August 15, 2022, which was quashed by the Supreme Court in 2024.

The debate on the Bill is to resume on Wednesday (July 29, 2026), with both Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Joshi piloting the Bill, and Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh set to speak before the passage of the Bill.