Rohit Kumar
NEW DELHI, July 21: In a day of fast developing dramatic movements in the national capital, the Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who along with other Congress leaders were holding protest dharna in front of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence, were picked up by the police and detained at different police stations late on Tuesday night.
Mr Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, led a Congress protest against paper leaks and the “attack” on students to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence, only to be dragged away hours later. He was later seen inside a bus after being detained by police from the protest site at Lok Kalyan Marg.
Ms Priyanka Gandhi was kept at the Mandir Marg police station, where her mother and the Leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party Sonia Gandhi met her, while Rahul Gandhi was taken to far away Chhatrasal Stadium.
Launching an attack on PM Modi following his detention, Mr Gandhi said, “Modi Ji, try every pressure, exert all your might – this fight for justice for students will now not stop or be halted.” ‘Our morale is not going to break’, says Congress after Rahul Gandhi, other leaders detained. The party on “But no matter how many attempts you make—our morale is not going to break. Dharmendra Pradhan will have to resign.”
Before his detention, Rahul Gandhi was surrounded by at least 10 police personnel as he sat on the road and refused to budge. He was eventually pulled away and was seen bleeding from his nose. Speaking to reporters after the police action, the Congress MP, who was lying on the road, declared, “Democracy in India is happening right now.
Before the protesters were dispersed, sources had said Gandhi had intended to continue the sit-in overnight. He had also made an appeal for people to join him outside the PM’s residence. “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 – join us in to wear in front of the Prime Minister’s residence. The voice of India’s students will not be ignored,” he said in a post.
The Union Minister Jitendra Singh, who was deputized by the government along with the union home secretary for negotiation with Mr Gandhi, later claimed that the Congress leader went back on his word to end the sit-in protest and added more demands after the government agreed to his condition for discussion on the NEET and paper leak in Parliament. “When this information was conveyed to Shri Rahul Gandhi, he said he would not agree to this alone but also sought assurance for the resignation of the Union Education Minister. He said now I have two demands: Discussion in Parliament and the resignation of the Union Education Minister. When he was reminded that earlier he had only demanded discussion, he said now my demands have changed,” Singh wrote in Hindi on X.
Police began breaking up the protest around 6.40 pm, soon after the minister’s statement.
The Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) march to Parliament on Monday saw protesters, mostly students and young people, being lathi-charged and tear-gassed by the police as well as the Rapid Action Force. The CJP, which is seeking Pradhan’s resignation over NEET and other paper leaks, said several people were injured and left bleeding after the action by the security forces.
Taking to Going a step further from the CJP, he demanded the resignations of PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
“We have marched to PM Modi’s house to demand answers from him for the brutalities against young students yesterday. The Government doesn’t want to take any accountability or (sic) does it want to have a debate on it in Parliament. PM and HM must resign for destroying the future of India’s youth,” he wrote.
Comments are closed.