New Delhi: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has criticised the use of force against protesting students in Jharkhand, where his own party is part of the ruling alliance.
In a post on X on Monday, Rahul Gandhi said the use of force against students protesting in Jharkhand was “wrong”.
“Students have a right to peaceful protest, and only dialogue can yield solutions,” Rahul Gandhi said, asking the Jharkhand government to listen to the students and resolve their issues immediately.
Rahul Gandhi later repeated his stand at a Congress press conference, saying, “We condemn any violence against peacefully protesting students. It does not matter where it is happening; we are against it and we do not support it.”
Rahul Gandhi’s remarks are significant because Congress is part of the Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government and has four ministers in the state cabinet who hold key portfolios, including Finance, Planning and Development and Medical Education.
Congress minister Radha Krishna Kishore holds the Finance, Planning and Development, Commercial Taxes, Food Distribution and Consumer Affairs portfolios. Irfan Ansari is the Minister for Medical Education, Health and Family Welfare. Deepika Pandey Singh and Shilpi Neha Tirkey are the other two Congress ministers in the cabinet.
The Congress state unit had already backed the students’ agitation. Jharkhand Congress in-charge K. Raju had met Chief Minister Hemant Soren with a memorandum listing the students’ demands and emphasising that the party stood with the students.
Raju also welcomed the chief minister’s decision to constitute a ministerial committee to speak to protesting students and recommend solutions.
At the press conference, Rahul Gandhi also targeted Union Home Minister Amit Shah over alleged action against protesters during the 20 July ‘Sansad Chalo’ march in Delhi, led by the Cockroach Janata Party.
“The Home Minister of India does not have the courage to stand by what he has done,” the Congress said. “The country is not interested in what Amit Shah thinks about education. The country is interested in knowing: Did you shoot our children, Mr Shah? And if you did, why?”
Congress has been stepping up its protests over the action taken against students on 20 July. The party has been demanding a discussion in Parliament on the concerns raised by protesting students and has questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah over the handling of the protests.
Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly raised the issue and questioned why the government was not ready to discuss the students’ concerns in Parliament. He also held a protest alongside Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge outside Prime Minister’s residence, where they demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Congress has also taken the campaign beyond Delhi through its ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ rallies in different states. The party has been raising issues including paper leaks, examination delays, recruitment and unemployment. Its student and youth wings, NSUI and IYC, have also been holding parallel protests across the country.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: Barricades, lathis & a Shibu Soren photo. Students take protest to Jharkhand Assembly