Congress chief whip in the Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh on Monday moved a privilege notice in the Rajya Sabha against Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, accusing him of showing “contempt” towards Parliament and its committees over his remarks on the Parliamentary Standing Committee’s observations on the National Testing Agency (NTA) amid the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak row.In a notice addressed to Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan, Ramesh sought initiation of privilege proceedings against the Education Minister, alleging that his comments had “lowered the dignity of Parliament and parliamentary committees”.The Congress leader said Pradhan made the remarks during a press conference in New Delhi on May 15 while responding to questions on why the Education Ministry had not acted on recommendations made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education regarding the NTA.According to the notice, the Minister 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.”Calling the statement “outrageous” and “highly derogatory”, Ramesh alleged that the Minister had attempted to malign parliamentarians and parliamentary committees.“The Minister’s impugned comments clearly indicate and reveal his contempt for the Parliament, parliamentary committees, members of the parliamentary committee that are drawn from all political parties and India’s constitutional democracy itself,” the notice stated.Ramesh further said that parliamentary committees were an extension of Parliament and were often referred to as “mini-Parliament”, making the executive accountable to them a “fundamental tenet” of India’s democratic framework.“He has deliberately lowered the stature and prestige of the institution of the Standing Committee simply because of its bipartisan nature,” the Congress MP alleged in the letter.The notice also claimed that Pradhan’s remarks amounted to “imputing dishonourable motives” to members of parliamentary committees and constituted “a grave breach of privilege and contempt of the House”.Ramesh urged the Rajya Sabha Chairman to initiate privilege proceedings against the Minister, saying the matter was a “fit case for action” since the Standing Committee on Education falls under the Upper House.Earlier, Ramesh also took to X to attack the Education Minister over the remarks. “He has made these outrageous remarks while presiding over the rot in the Education Ministry that is destroying the future of lakhs of youth across the country,” he said.