New Delhi: High drama unfolded outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence Tuesday after Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and several Opposition MPs were forcibly removed by Delhi Police after talks with the government failed to break the deadlock over the party’s protest over “brutalities against students”.
The Congress also alleged that the police did not inform its party leaders about where Rahul and Priyanka were being taken, triggering chaotic scenes at the protest site.
The leaders’ forced removal came after hours of confrontation outside 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, where the Congress leadership had announced an overnight dharna demanding accountability for the country’s education system, the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and action against the police’s use of force during Monday’s CJP-led student march.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh and Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan reached the protest site to hold talks with Rahul Gandhi, Kharge and other senior Congress leaders on behalf of the government. However, the discussions ended without any breakthrough.
Speaking after the meeting, Jitendra Singh accused Rahul of changing the Congress’s demands after the government had agreed to hold a discussion on NEET and the student protest in Parliament.
“We requested Rahul Gandhi to end the dharna because this is not a designated protest site and it was causing inconvenience to the public. Rahul Gandhi told us that if the government agreed to a discussion in Parliament on NEET and all issues related to the student movement, he would immediately withdraw the protest. After obtaining approval from the government’s top leadership, we informed him that the government had accepted this demand and was ready for a discussion in Parliament. However, Rahul Gandhi then said that this alone would not suffice and added a second demand — the resignation of the Union Education Minister,” Singh wrote in a lengthy post on X.
He added: “When reminded that he had initially sought only a discussion, he replied that his demands had changed. When we told him that it did not befit a senior leader to change his stand so quickly, he said it was his wish. The Home Secretary also explained that this was not an appropriate place for a dharna, to which he responded that it was his wish to sit wherever he wanted. It is unfortunate that a senior leader and the Leader of Opposition went back on his word. The government remains ready for a discussion in Parliament on NEET and all related issues.”
According to Congress sources, however, Rahul Gandhi had consistently conveyed two demands to the government during the meeting. The first was the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan over the handling of the education system, including repeated examination paper leak controversies. The second was a discussion in both Houses of Parliament on the police action against students, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah present during the debate.
In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi had previously appealed to the public to join the protest.
“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 ask every patriotic Indian who believes our students deserve justice to join us in dharna in front of the Prime Minister’s residence. The voice of India’s students will not be ignored,” he wrote.
Congress communications chief Pawan Khera had earlier declared that the party would not leave the protest site until Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded. “The entire Congress party will not move from outside the PM’s residence. I urge all party leaders and workers to join in. The Prime Minister has to come out and speak to us.”
Also read: Rain, rubble & resolve: CJP protesters rebuild tattered camps in Jantar Mantar after police action
AAP sniffs a rat
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party questioned the government’s handling of the protest, alleging that the Congress had been allowed to demonstrate outside the Prime Minister’s residence for hours before police action was taken.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh posted on X, “To weaken the CJP’s dharna, Modi ji has seated Rahul Gandhi on a dharna at his residence.”
Former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi also took a swipe at the Centre, writing, “This is amazing! CJP and Sonam Wangchuk: One month protest at Jantar Mantar. Modi govt refuses to talk to them. Rahul Gandhi: Allowed to protest outside PM residence. In one hour Modi govt starts dialogue.”
Congress sources maintained that the party would continue its agitation despite the removal of its top leadership until its two principal demands—a parliamentary discussion on the education crisis and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan—are fulfilled.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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