Guwahati: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday staged a sit-in outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence, escalating the Congress’ protest over the Delhi Police crackdown on the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) ‘Sansad Chalo’ march on Monday.
Accompanied by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other party leaders, Gandhi reached 7, Lok Kalyan Marg and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the police action against protesters.
Police personnel urged the Congress leaders to end the protest outside the Prime Minister’s residence, a high-security zone, while barricades were erected to prevent additional protesters from reaching the site.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh later arrived at the protest venue and held discussions with Gandhi as Congress leaders continued their sit-in.
In a post on X, Gandhi said the Congress had marched to the Prime Minister’s residence to seek answers over what he described as the “brutalities” against students during Monday’s protest.
“We have marched to PM Modi’s house to demand answers from him for the brutalities against young students yesterday,” Gandhi said, adding that the Prime Minister and the Home Minister “must resign for destroying the future of India’s youth.”
A video shared by the Congress on X showed Gandhi distributing zip ties to party colleagues, who tied their wrists together in what the party said was an attempt to prevent individual detentions.
The protest came hours after Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital to meet those injured during the police action against CJP protesters on Monday.
The CJP had organised the march to Parliament demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations, including question paper leaks.
Earlier in Parliament, Gandhi criticised the police action and said the country’s youth were being denied opportunities.
“The point is that this is no way to treat young people of this country. They don’t have any opportunities. All the doors are closed. Only one door is open – competitive exams. And that door is also destroyed,” he said.
He argued that the issue extended beyond the education system and reflected broader concerns about employment and opportunities for young people.
Gandhi also reiterated his demand for Pradhan’s resignation and said accountability extended to the Home Minister and the Prime Minister, alleging that the police action fell under their responsibility.
Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain said the party’s demand was for “the PM’s resignation and accountability.”
A Congress MP, speaking on condition of anonymity, said party MPs were informed about the protest only after gathering at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence, where they had assembled to greet him on his birthday. The MP said the plan was kept confidential to avoid alerting the police in advance.