New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Tuesday (July 28) saw heated exchanges between the opposition and the Treasury benches after Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi for picking Pralhad Joshi as the new education minister and said that he had “expressed consent and happiness” following the premature release of the 11 men who were convicted of gangraping a pregnant Bilkis Bano and killing several members of her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots.While the Treasury benches erupted in uproar, Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju accused Gandhi Vadra of “character assassination” while Joshi himself stood on his feet and accused her of “misinformation” and demanded that she cannot make allegations without authenticating her statement. Outside the House, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had made a “defender of rapists” the new education minister, and said that there can be “no filthier man.”Also read: After SC Interim Order on Protest FIRs, CJP Warns of Return to Streets as Govt Deadline NearsThe Wayanad MP while delivering her speech on the The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 questioned what message Modi wanted to give to the women of the country by making Joshi the new education minister.“The prime minister appointed a new education minister. Such a person was made the education who expressed consent and even happiness over the release of those convicted of raping a pregnant woman. What message did the prime minister want to give crores of women in this country?” she asked.Gandhi Vadra was referring to Joshi’s statement in 2022 in an interview with NDTV when he was asked about the Union government’s approval for the 11 convicts to be released prematurelyAlso read: Two Pellet Firing Victims Move Supreme Court Seeking Ban on Metallic Pellet Guns Against Civilians“After being in prison for sometime there is a provision for that and accordingly as per the law it was done,” Joshi had said.“The government and the concerned people have taken the decision I don’t want to make any comment on that. And I don’t find anything wrong in it as it is done as a process of the law,” he added.He had also made the same remarks to The Indian Express.Following Gandhi Vadra’s statement, the Treasury benches erupted in uproar, as the Congress MP said that she is ready to authenticate the statement. Joshi himself then stood up and said that her remarks should be expunged and she should apologise as she had not given him notice.Union minister Pralhad Joshi speaks in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon session of parliament in New Delhi on July 28, 2026. Photo: Sansad TV via PTI.“Priyanka ji should have authenticated her statements. Otherwise action should be taken regarding the misinformation being spread. Can anyone say anything,” said Joshi amid uproar from both sides of the House. “I was not given any notice under Rule 353 as the speaker mentioned, even though I am present here. I condemn this, this should be expunged and she should apologise,” he mentioned. Rijiju also rose to Joshi’s defence and said that Gandhi Vadra’s remarks had amounted to “character assassination.”“The remark against our new education minister amounts to character assassination within Parliament, and we do not expect such language,” said Rijiju.He added that “Priyanka ji’s wrong remarks should be removed from the records and such language should not be used, she is a senior leader of a party even though she is a first time MP. If she cannot authenticate, I believe she should apologise to the House.”Also read: ‘No Assessment Done’ on How Many Vehicles E20 Compatible, Govt Tells Rajya SabhaOutside the House, Gandhi said that following the police action on protesters including women last week, Modi had decided to make Joshi the new education minister who was a “defender of rapists.”“After all these young girls who were protesting for education, they were beaten and thrashed, the BJP puts a man who is a defender of rapists,” said the LoP to reporters outside. “There can be no filthier type of man who says that rapists need protection. That is the education minister of India. It is a strange reaction of the prime minister, there are so many people in his cabinet. He could have chosen anyone. But he chooses a person who protects rapists,” he added.People convicted for rape and murder in the Bilkis Bano case of the 2002 Gujarat riots, being welcomed as they come out of the Godhra sub-jail after the Gujarat government allowed their release in 2022. Photo: X.The Gujarat government – under the same BJP which was in power during the riots in 2002 – had announced the decision to grant the 11 men premature release on August 15, Independence Day, in 2022. The men were convicted for gang-raping a pregnant Bilkis Bano and killing several members of her family during the 2002 Gujarat pogromIn January 2023, the Supreme Court came down heavily on the Gujarat government for granting premature release to the 11 convicts. The bench said that the state of Gujarat “acted in complicity with the convicts” and noted that “it was this very apprehension which led this Court to transfer the trial out of the State” to Maharashtra.