PM must apologise : Rahul Gandhi questions Modi’s silence on Police crackdown against CJP protesters
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence over the police crackdown on CJP protesters during students Sansad Chalo march from Jantar Mantar to Parliament. Describing the lathicharge as un-Indian, the congress leader criticised the police action against students and said the Prime Minister should publicly apologise.
“What’s happening, people being beaten, is completely un-Indian. Modi hasn’t even apologised for what happened yesterday,” he said while speaking to the reporters after meeting Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla along with other Opposition MPs.
The Congress leader alleged that instead of addressing students’ concerns over examination-related issues, the government had responded with force.
Rahul Gandhi claimed that Speaker Om Birla did not immediately agree to a discussion on the issue, alleging that he said government approval would be required. “Think about it, the Speaker is telling us that to debate in Parliament he has to take permission from the government. He is openly telling us that,” Gandhi told reporters.
The Opposition has been demanding a discussion on the police action during Monday’s protest march.
Referring to concerns over competitive examinations, Gandhi said the issue extended beyond education and reflected deeper problems in the examination system. He alleged that the testing framework had been “hollowed out by termites” and said students’ demands were legitimate.
Calling for accountability, Gandhi said Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan should resign, but also held Union Home Minister Amit Shah responsible for the police action. “Dharmendra Pradhan is an intermediary. He should absolutely resign, but he hasn’t beaten up these students. The Home Minister has. He should resign, and since the Home Minister reports to the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister should resign,” he said.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also criticised the Centre, alleging that force had been used against students and comparing the government’s actions to authoritarian practices.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi said paper leaks had become a recurring issue and alleged that no meaningful action was taken to address the problem. She said students and their families were under immense pressure due to repeated examination controversies.
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal also condemned the police action, accusing the Centre of targeting students instead of reforming the education system.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the government had attempted to prevent the Opposition from raising the issue in Parliament and questioned the use of force against protesters.
Union Health Minister JP Nadda visited injured protesters admitted to RML Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College on Tuesday. Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal also met injured protesters receiving treatment at RML Hospital.