Union Minister Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has lambasted the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and his party the Congress of exploiting the youth in their first response in the wake of the police action against the Cockroach Janta Party protestors on the occasion of the ‘Chalo Sansad’ rally. He charged the Opposition of trying to create trouble during the Monsoon Session of the Parliament instead of looking for a solution to the NEET leak issue.
The minister in a post on X said that even though the government had clearly conveyed that it was willing to have an extensive debate in parliament regarding the examinations, Congress had organised a demonstration at the residence of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said that the opposition wanted to organise a political event and not have a political discourse and the sole aim of the opposition was to create political headlines and not solve any issues for the students.
The political face-off follows a dramatic escalation on Tuesday, when Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and several other senior leaders marched towards Lok Kalyan Marg to protest against the police action on student demonstrators. Senior figures, including Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and Kerala Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan, also joined the march. Delhi Police subsequently detained the politicians after they attempted to breach the security cordon, with visuals showing security personnel carrying Rahul Gandhi away and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra holding onto the door of a police transport vehicle.
Following her release alongside other leaders hours later, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra stated that the protest took place at an unexpected location because the Opposition was denied permission to speak in Parliament or stage standard demonstrations. However, government sources strongly criticised the gathering near the Prime Minister's official residence, characterising it as a serious security threat and a dangerous precedent. They noted that targeting the residences of political leaders is uncharacteristic of mature democracies and drew parallels to recent political unrest in neighbouring countries where residential protests escalated into chaos.
The confrontation stems from the violence that erupted a day earlier during the 'Chalo Sansad' march organised by the two-month-old Cockroach Janta Party. The rally, held on the opening day of the Monsoon Session to demand Pradhan's resignation over exam irregularities, turned violent as police deployed tear gas and batons to disperse the crowd. Consequences of the conflict include damage to public property, breaking the windows of police cars, and arrest of more than 70 individuals, while according to official sources, over 100 security forces personnel, including some IPS officers, were injured.
Also read: PM Modi owes students an apology, says Rahul Gandhi
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