Rahul Gandhi, along with other Congress leaders, is currently protesting outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence in response to the police crackdown on a peaceful student march that occurred on Monday. The demonstration was organized to address exam irregularities and paper leaks, and Congress leaders are demanding the resignations of PM Modi and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Rahul Gandhi urged those who believe in justice for students to join the protest. He stated, “An attack on students is an attack on every Indian family. PM Modi believes he can get away without answers, without consequences. He cannot. Not this time. I appeal to every patriotic Indian who believes our students deserve justice – join us in dharna in front of the Prime Minister’s residence. The voice of India’s students will not be ignored.” This message was shared in a post on X.
Earlier, he expressed the urgency of their demands, saying, “We have marched to PM Modi’s house to demand answers from him for the brutalities against young students yesterday. The Government doesn’t want to take any accountability or engage in a debate on it in Parliament. PM and HM must resign for destroying the future of India’s youth.”
Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Jitendera Singh, visited the protest site and briefly spoke with Rahul Gandhi, but the discussions did not yield any results. Delhi Police detained several Congress leaders participating in the protest.
Congress has accused the government of stifling their leaders’ ability to address the student issues in Parliament. “We have a simple demand. Our Leaders of the Opposition have raised this demand both in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The demand is that the Home Minister clarifies this in Parliament and this issue is discussed in the House. We want him to issue a statement on the way democracy and our Constitution are being undermined, and atrocities are being committed against the students. We have been demanding the resignation of the Education Minister for 45 days,” a Congress spokesperson told reporters.
Rajeev Shukla remarked that the party had no choice but to protest, stating, “They are not conducting a debate in Parliament. So what else could we have done? We had to take to the streets.” Sandeep Dikshit criticized the government for attempting to politicize the NEET-UG paper leak, emphasizing that Rahul Gandhi has consistently raised concerns about the education system.
Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain explained their stance: “They wanted us to withdraw the protest, and we did not agree because our demands were not met. We want Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign and a discussion in Parliament on the paper leaks. More MPs, more Congress workers, and more common people will join our protest.” He added, “Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi wanted to raise their voices in Parliament about the way students were treated in Delhi on Monday. But our leaders were not allowed to speak in the House. PM Narendra Modi neither attends the House himself nor listens to the Opposition. In such a situation, we have staged a sit-in outside the Prime Minister’s residence — they will have to respond.”
The protest follows the adjournment of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as the Opposition sought discussions on the NEET-UG paper leak and other education-related issues. Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and KC Venugopal visited injured student protestors in the national capital, with Congress demanding an apology from PM Modi for what they deemed “brutality” against the youth.
Rahul Gandhi commented on the situation, stating, “The issue is about students, about the future of the youth. And what is being done, people being beaten and thrashed, is completely un-Indian. Modi ji has not even apologized for what happened yesterday.”
