Several MPs from the INDIA bloc gathered at Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s residence on Sunehri Bagh Road on Thursday amid a parliamentary deadlock concerning the NEET-UG paper leak issue. A significant police presence, including Rapid Action Force buses, was deployed outside Gandhi’s residence.
The location is close to the residences of Amit Shah on Krishna Bagh Road and Kiran Rijiju. Attendees included Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and Congress MPs P Chidambaram, KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Renuka Chowdhury and Pramod Tiwari. Nationalist Congress Party (SCP) MP Supriya Sule and Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Misa Bharati were also present.
Suspended Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee and party leader Mahua Moitra, Communist Party of India MP P Sandosh Kumar, and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant joined the meeting of Opposition leaders.
Downplaying the meeting’s significance, Kharge told reporters, “(Rahul Gandhi) invited us for tea. That’s why I have come to have tea.”
KC Venugopal criticised the central government, describing the heightened security measures in Delhi after the Cockroach Janata Party protest as equivalent to an emergency, stating, “Emergency declared all over Delhi. They are making it like a war-like situation.”
Congress MP Jothimani Sennimalai said, “He is the Leader of the Opposition. We are all MPs from his party. We just came to meet him. But the government has fortified the entire area. I can understand their panic. We are meeting the Leader of the Opposition. But we can see the government’s fear.”
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring stated, “If we reveal our plan, the enemy is very alert. Delhi Police, Amit Shah ji’s people, have come here already. We will fight, and we will win.”
Randeep Singh Surjewala demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, saying, “Resignation must happen.”
Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha expressed concern about the unrest amid protests nationwide over the NEET-UG paper leak. He stated, “Look at what is happening at Jantar Mantar and in different states. There is so much unrest among the youth. In the coming moments, you will know what we are doing. I am worried after seeing the condition of the country.”
Renuka Chowdhury described the meeting as a demonstration of unity among INDIA bloc parties, stating, “The entire INDIA Bloc, we are fighting this issue together.”
The meeting followed a deadlock in Parliament over the NEET-UG paper leak controversy, during which the Opposition has demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and invocation of Rule 267 in the Rajya Sabha as preconditions for discussion. The central government has expressed its readiness to discuss the NEET issue without any preconditions. Rule 267 permits an MP to seek suspension of business in the Upper House.
A direct confrontation occurred between NDA and INDIA bloc MPs inside Parliament on Thursday, with both sides staging simultaneous protests at Makar Dwar on different issues. On July 21, Opposition leaders had held a sit-in protest at Lok Kalyan Marg near Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence.
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