Escalating its attack on the Centre a day after the police crackdown on the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led “Sansad Chalo” march, the Congress on Tuesday staged a protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official residence, demanding accountability for the alleged use of force against students and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over examination paper leaks.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra led the demonstration after Congress MPs and workers marched from Kharge’s residence at 10, Rajaji Marg to the Prime Minister’s residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg.
Addressing supporters, Rahul Gandhi appealed to “patriotic Indians” to join the protest, calling the police action against students an attack on every Indian family.
“An attack on students is an attack on every Indian family. Prime Minister Modi thinks he can escape without giving answers, without facing any consequences — he won’t be able to, not at all this time,” Gandhi wrote on X before the protest.
In another post, Gandhi demanded the resignations of both Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing the government of refusing to accept responsibility for the police action.
“We have marched to PM Modi’s house to demand answers for the brutalities against young students yesterday. The government doesn’t want to take any accountability or have a debate on it in Parliament. PM and HM must resign for destroying the future of India’s youth,” he said.
The protest came a day after thousands of CJP supporters, many of them students, attempted to march towards Parliament over alleged irregularities in NEET and other competitive examinations. Delhi Police stopped the march, using tear gas and baton charges after protesters allegedly tried to breach barricades.
The CJP accused the police of excessive force, alleging that several protesters were injured, while activist Sonam Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali J. Angmo, was pushed during the action. Delhi Police rejected the allegations, stating that no targeted assault took place and accused protesters of stone-pelting, vandalising police vehicles and displaying violent behaviour. Police said 118 personnel, including senior officers, were injured during the clashes.
As the Congress demonstration gathered momentum, Delhi Police deployed additional security personnel near the Prime Minister’s residence and detained several protesters. BJP leaders accused the Congress of compromising the Prime Minister’s security by attempting to protest close to his residence.
Congress leaders, however, maintained that the demonstration was peaceful.
“The Prime Minister is not in Parliament. He left Parliament in a very short time yesterday as well. Where do we go to be heard? The protest is being held peacefully,” Congress MP Manickam Tagore said.
In an unusual development, Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh visited the protest site and held talks with Rahul Gandhi for several minutes. Congress leaders later said the discussions remained inconclusive.
“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,” Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain said.
Earlier in the day, Kharge criticised the government for refusing to allow a discussion on the issue in Parliament.
“We wanted to raise the issue of the students who were assaulted. They were lathi-charged, tear gas was used against them, they were beaten up, and many of them are now in hospitals. We wanted to raise our voice in Parliament against this injustice. We had sought time to speak, but after uttering just one word, the microphone was switched off. If, in a democracy, you do not want a debate and do not want to listen to the Opposition, then where should we go?” he said outside Parliament.
Parliament proceedings were adjourned early for the second consecutive day amid repeated opposition protests over the alleged paper leaks and Monday’s police action.
Meanwhile, the government maintained that it remained open to engaging with the protesters but would not tolerate violence. Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda met CJP representatives twice on Monday and also visited injured protesters admitted to hospitals in Delhi.
Prime Minister Modi also referred to the NEET paper leak issue during the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting on Tuesday. According to Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, the Prime Minister said preventing examination paper leaks was a national responsibility and highlighted that the government had acted swiftly after reports of the NEET leak surfaced, leading to arrests and action against those involved.
