Rahul Gandhi Accuses Government of Using Pellet Guns against Student Marchers, Demands PM’s Apology

Rohit Kumar

NEW DELHI, July 24: The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha on Friday alleged that pellet guns were used against unarmed student protesters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and asked the Center to “stop lying” while insisting that the union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan “must go.”

Upping the ante against the Narendra Modi government over the use of pellet guns on the students during their march to the Parliament House on Monday, Mr Gandhi said the “Government must stop lying.” “The government said pellet guns were not used, but it is a lie. They are the future of India, but pellet guns were used against the students and they were lathi-charged. They were just doing a peaceful protest against the (NEET) paper leak. This has happened to lakhs of people. The government should stop lying,” the Lok Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli said.

Addressing the media with a 19-year old pellet gun victim standing by his side, Mr Gandhi reiterated that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan must resign over irregularities in NEET UG examination, alleging that the entire education system has collapsed under him.

“Dharmendra Pradhan is a criminal education minister. He has to be removed. He is a symbol of the collapse of our education system. He has to go. He is the reason why thousands of people are outside. He has to go,” Rahul added. He also said the government must apologize to the youth for using brutal force against them to crush the peaceful protest.

However, the Delhi Police have refuted such reports, calling them “completely false and misleading”. In a post on The Delhi Police also said the public should avoid sharing or circulating any “unverified or misleading information.”

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), however, was “verifying the media reports” on the use of pellet guns by the Rapid Action Force (RAF) against the students on Monday, an official said on Friday.

While the police and the government have categorically denied that pellet guns were fired during the police action, a number of injured protesters have now come forward with medically confirmed pellet wounds on their bodies.

Rahul Gandhi on Friday addressed the media with one such victim, Sahil Lohchab, standing by his side with injuries visible all over his face and body. “The government has been denying that pellets were fired. But here is the proof,” Rahul Gandhi said, lifting Lohchab’s t-shirt to show multiple pellet wounds on his face, arm and upper body to the media cameras. “The government must stop lying. They have fired guns at the future of India,” Rahul said.

19-year-old Sahil, a final-year student at Delhi University’s School of Open Learning (SOL), was hit by pellets allegedly fired by police during Monday’s protest. “My brother was hit by pellets while he was waving the national flag. He can’t see from his right eye which was hit by pellets. He is not sure if he will regain his vision,” Rahul Gandhi said.

Sahil is a resident of Najafgarh in the Capital, and he wanted to join Delhi Police, Gandhi said. His mother Jyoti said pellets pierced his right eye and parts of his upper body. He underwent surgery at the AIIMS Trauma Center on Tuesday. “Thousands like Sahil have been attacked and beaten by police just for protesting peacefully. What was their fault? Their paper was leaked and they want the person responsible sacked,” Gandhi said, his arm on Sahil’s shoulder.

“Those who have fired and used lathis on our future must face consequences. The government must take action against those who assaulted thousands of students like Sahil,” Rahul Gandhi demanded. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi must apologize to victims like Sahil,” he added.

The CJP on Friday announced that it would launch a dedicated website to gather photographs and videos from protesters to identify police personnel allegedly involved in the July 20 crackdown during the ‘Sansad Chalo’ march, saying it would seek FIRs against the officers and move court.

The CJP spokesperson Saurav Das alleged that police personnel assaulted students and molested women protesters during the police action. “As we announced earlier, every officer who attacked students, injured them and molested young girls has been warned. We will not remain quiet. We will remember everything,” Mr Das asserted.

He appealed to protesters to upload photographs and videos of police personnel allegedly involved in the crackdown. Mr Das said if the Delhi Police did not register FIRs against the identified officers, the party would approach the courts.

Meanwhile, another Congress leader Shobha Oza in Bhopal said the “violence” against female students during the protests in New Delhi showed how hollow the BJP-led Union government’s ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ slogan was. These students were not only injured but also subjected to all manner of brutal acts, molestation, obscenity, and verbal abuse, Ms Oza, former All India Women Congress president, said.

“The terrifying scenes clearly demonstrate how hollow the slogan ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ is for the ruling BJP,” she said while alleging that the brutality of the police force has crossed all limits during the ongoing student protests in Delhi. The students were hit on the face, legs, etc., she said. Such barbarity was witnessed for the first time in history, Ms Oza added.

Ms Oza said the Narendra Modi government, “stunned by the large number of protesters who had gathered at Jantar Mantar to demonstrate peacefully”, vented its anger on the protest leaders instead of accepting the resignation of Mr Pradhan.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Friday alleged that the Delhi police’s crackdown on the CJP’s ‘Sansad Chalo’ march seemed like an act of “revenge” rather than crowd control. Mr Thackeray, in a post on

“One can understand if the police had resorted to mild lathi-charge to disperse protesting students, but what was witnessed appeared like some kind of revenge,” he wrote. He claimed that videos circulating on social media showed not only protesting students but also several bystanders being beaten during the police action, alleging that such force would not have been used without orders from higher authorities.

“It has been a very successful movement for us as it has awakened the entire country. Hope it also serves as a wake-up call to the present regime,” said Gitanjali J. Angmo, wife of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk. She was speaking with the mediapersons outside Medanta Hospital on Friday.

Meanwhile, the RSS national executive member Indresh Kumar urged Mr Wangchuk to keep his agitation “Indian” after the latter ended his hunger strike, alleging that “foreign forces” had taken over the movement and warning the youth against becoming “agents” of anti-national elements.

“These are separate in nature. Sonam Wangchuk is one person, and the CJP is totally different. Political parties too have different agendas. They have mixed it together to defame everyone’s character. That is why Sonam Wangchuk has distanced himself from it.

“I would say that he should understand that his movement has been taken over by foreigners. Therefore, he should keep his movement Indian. He should not become a puppet of foreigners,” Mr Kumar told reporters.