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Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and KC Venugopal on Tuesday met student protestors who were injured in a police crackdown on the CJP parliament protest in the national capital, with Congress demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologise for what it called "brutality" against the country's youth.
The party stated that the protesting students' demand remains straightforward: the Centre to take accountability for the alleged NEET paper leak and the immediate resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. In a post on X, Congress said, "Leader of Opposition Shri RahulGandhi, Congress General Secretary Smt. priyankagandhi ji, and Organization General Secretary Shri kcvenugopalmp met with the students injured during the police brutality and lathi charge in yesterday's youth protest. Today, the future of students in the country is being trampled, and lathis are being rained down on those who raise their voices, for which Narendra Modi should apologise. The students' demand is absolutely clear - the government should take responsibility for the paper leak and Dharmendra Pradhan should resign" https://x.com/INCIndia/status/2079489294452818137?s=20 The visit to the hospital comes after Rahul Gandhi spoke to reporters in the Parliament House complex where he said, "The issue is about students, about the future of the youth. And what is being done--people being beaten and thrashed--this is completely un-Indian. Modi ji has not even apologised for what happened yesterday." Gandhi also said he had met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla earlier in the day along with other opposition MPs to press for a discussion on the issue in Parliament, but was told the Speaker would first need the government's consent. "We went to the Speaker and said, 'Look, we want to discuss the student issue,' and the Speaker told us that to hold a discussion, he has to ask the government. Do you understand what this means? The Speaker is telling us that to debate in Parliament, he has to take permission from the government," he alleged. The criticism from Congress adds to a broader wave of opposition criticism of the government's handling of the protest, with leaders including Pawan Khera, Shashi Tharoor, Sanjay Raut, Bhupesh Baghel and Arvind Kejriwal having also spoken out against the police action over the past two days. Meanwhile, Delhi Police has said that more than 118 police personnel were injured. Many protesters were also reportedly hurt. Union Health Minister JP Nadda and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal also separately visited RML hospital earlier on Tuesday. Activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is leading a prolonged hunger strike demanding Pradhan's resignation, remains under medical care at Safdarjung Hospital. (ANI)
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