Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka, top Cong leaders detained from protest site, seen bleeding from nose

SEEKING to pile on the pressure on the Centre a day after the Cockroach Janta Party-led march to Parliament, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi led a protest to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Sources had suggested that Rahul Gandhi would continue the protest outside the PM's residence overnight, but he and other leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, were removed from the spot by the police around 6.40 pm.

Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, was surrounded by at least 10 police personnel as he sat on the road and refused to budge. He was eventually dragged away and was seen bleeding from his nose. 

Before the protest was broken up, Gandhi appealed 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 dharna in front of the Prime Minister's residence. The voice of India's students will not be ignored," he said in a post.

The dramatic face-off between the Congress and the Centre began on Tuesday afternoon when workers led by Mallikarjun Kharge and the Gandhi siblings gathered outside the Congress president's house at 10, Rajaji Marg and marched to the PM's residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, just over a kilometre away. In an unprecedented development, Union Minister Jitendra Singh later visited the protest site and spoke to Rahul Gandhi.

Congress leaders said the talks between Gandhi and Singh were inconclusive. 

"They wanted us to withdraw the protest and we did not agree because our demands were not met. We want Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign and a discussion in Parliament on the paper leaks. More MPs, more Congress workers and more common people will join our protest," said Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain. 

Singh later alleged Gandhi had assured him the Congress would call off the protest if the government agreed to discuss all issues related to NEET and paper leaks in Parliament, and then went back on his word. 

"When this information was conveyed to Shri Rahul Gandhi, he said that he would not agree to this alone but also sought assurance for the resignation of the Union Education Minister. He said that 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 that now my demands have changed," Singh wrote in Hindi on X.  

Police began breaking up the protest soon after the minister's statement.

The Cockroach Janta Party's march to Parliament on Monday saw protesters, mostly students and young people, being lathicharged 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. 

The Delhi Police, on the other hand, accused the protesters of displaying "unruly, aggressive and violent behaviour" and said they attacked personnel with stones, vandalised police vehicles and resorted to "large-scale violence". The force said 118 police personnel were injured, including senior officers.

Taking to X immediately after the protest began, Rahul Gandhi said the Congress protest was aimed at seeking accountability from the government for the "brutality" against the protesters. 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.

The Delhi Police, which appeared to be caught off-guard by the Congress demonstration, rushed additional contingents to the PM's residence and began detaining protesters. The BJP accused the Congress of putting the PM's security at risk, but Congress leaders at the spot insisted that the protest was being held peacefully.

"The Prime Minister is not in the Parliament. He left the Parliament in a very short time yesterday as well. Where do we go to be heard? The protest is being carried out peacefully," said Congress MP Manickam Tagore.

Jitendra Singh, who is the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, also visited the site about an hour after the protest began and was seen speaking to Rahul Gandhi. The two leaders spoke for several minutes and their conversation was recorded by a person present at the protest. 

Sources said Singh later met Home Minister Amit Shah and other ministers.

Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav and senior NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule also joined the protest later in the evening. Signalling a rift in the Opposition, however, the AAP said the Congress' protest was being instigated by the BJP itself to draw attention away from the CJP agitation. 

The Parliament has been adjourned early on both days since the Monsoon Session began on Monday. The Congress tried to raise the issue of the paper leaks and the protest led by the CJP on both days and claimed its leaders were not allowed to speak. 

"Today, we wanted to raise the issue of the students who were assaulted. They were lathi-charged, tear gas was used against them, they were beaten up, and many of them are now in hospitals. We wanted to raise our voice in Parliament against this injustice, these atrocities, and the pressure being created on them. We had sought time to speak, and when we stood up, after uttering just one word, the microphone was switched off. This is democracy? If, in a democracy, you do not want a debate and do not want to listen to the Opposition, then where should we go?" Kharge, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said outside Parliament before the protest. 

CJP representatives held two meetings with JP Nadda on Monday and the Health Minister also visited Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital and Lady Harding Hospital on Tuesday to meet protesters injured in Monday's march. The government has maintained it is willing to engage with the protesters and listen to their demands, but will not tolerate violence.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi also spoke about the NEET paper leak and said preventing such incidents is a national responsibility. 

"The PM called on NDA partners to remain united in supporting legislative business and appealed to opposition parties to work constructively in parliament, saying that while political differences may exist, all MPs have a shared responsibility to work for the country's future and the welfare of its youth," Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, describing what happened at the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting. 

PM Modi said the government acted immediately after reports of the NEET paper leak emerged, leading to arrests and swift action against those involved.