Congress leaders being detained from outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's house after Rahul Gandhi rejects Centre's outreach, reported NDTV. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, protesting with opposition leaders and workers at Lok Kalyan Marg, was also detained by the Delhi Police.
Akhilesh Yadav was also detained by police and removed from protest outside PM Modi's house.
The Congress on Tuesday intensified its protest against the Centre by marching to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence in New Delhi, a day after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led demonstration over alleged NEET and other examination paper leaks. The protest was led by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
The leaders marched from Kharge's residence at Rajaji Marg towards the Prime Minister's residence at Lok Kalyan Marg, demanding accountability for the police action against protesters during Monday's CJP march to Parliament. Police later detained Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and several Opposition leaders, removing them from the protest site around 6:40 pm after Gandhi refused to leave.
Before being detained, Rahul Gandhi appealed to citizens to join the protest, calling the police action against students "an attack on every Indian family." He accused the government of avoiding accountability and demanded justice for students.
The protest took an unusual turn when Union Minister Jitendra Singh visited the demonstration site and held talks with Rahul Gandhi. According to Congress leaders, the discussions failed to produce any breakthrough. Singh later claimed Gandhi had initially agreed to end the protest if the government allowed a parliamentary discussion on NEET and examination paper leaks, but later added a fresh demand seeking the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Congress did not publicly respond to Singh's version of events before police dispersed the protest.
Rahul Gandhi later escalated his attack on the government, demanding the resignations of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. He alleged the Centre was unwilling to discuss the issue in Parliament or take responsibility for the police action against students.
The Congress protest came a day after the CJP's march to Parliament, during which protesters, mostly students and young people, were lathicharged and tear-gassed by police and the Rapid Action Force. The CJP claimed several demonstrators were injured, while Delhi Police alleged protesters became violent, attacked security personnel with stones, vandalised police vehicles and injured 118 police personnel, including senior officers.
The BJP accused the Congress of compromising the Prime Minister's security by attempting to march to his residence. Congress leaders, however, maintained that the demonstration remained peaceful and argued they had no alternative venue to press their demands.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule joined the protest in solidarity. However, the Aam Aadmi Party distanced itself, alleging the Congress demonstration diverted attention from the CJP's agitation, exposing differences within the Opposition over the strategy to challenge the government.
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