- Congress demanded resignations of Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Dharmendra Pradhan immediately
- Congress leaders symbolically tied their hands during the demonstration against government actions
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and several senior Congress leaders were detained by Delhi Police on Tuesday after staging a sit-in outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official residence, demanding the resignations of the prime minister, Home Minister Amit Shah and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The protest was organized in response to police action against students who had marched toward Parliament following a call by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) over the recent Neet examination paper leak controversy.
Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, was joined by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, senior Congress leader K C Venugopal, Kerala opposition leader V D Satheesan, and several MPs and party workers.
According to the Congress, the leaders unexpectedly gathered outside the prime minister’s residence at Lok Kalyan Marg and began a peaceful sit-in before Delhi Police arrived at the scene. The party alleged that police detained Gandhi and several other Congress leaders and workers while attempting to clear the protest site.
Earlier during the demonstration, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh met Rahul Gandhi and urged the protesters to end the sit-in. However, Congress leaders refused, insisting that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resign over the handling of the NEET paper leak issue.
Addressing supporters through a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said the police action against students represented “an attack on every Indian family.”
“Prime Minister Modi believes he can get away without answers, without consequences. He cannot. Not this time,” Gandhi wrote.
He also called on citizens to join the protest, saying students deserved justice and their voices “will not be ignored.”
During the protest, Congress MPs and leaders symbolically tied their hands with cloth strips, alleging that the government was suppressing democratic rights and freedom of expression.
The protest followed a large student demonstration in New Delhi on Monday over the alleged NEET paper leak. Thousands of students gathered near Jantar Mantar and attempted to march toward Parliament. Police used barricades, tear gas and baton charges to disperse the crowd, prompting sharp criticism from opposition parties.
Congress has maintained that the government must take political responsibility for the incident and has continued to demand the resignations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the Congress protest of compromising the prime minister’s security, an allegation rejected by Congress leaders, who described their demonstration as peaceful.
