In a significant escalation of opposition protests against the government’s handling of student unrest, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, along with his sister and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, led a sit-in demonstration outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg on Tuesday. The protest, joined by several Congress workers and MPs, was triggered by the previous day’s police action against student demonstrators in the national capital, which involved lathi charges and tear gas, leaving scores injured.
The demonstration comes on the heels of Monday’s “Chalo Sansad” march organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and other student groups, who were demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2026 examinations and broader failures in the country’s testing and education system. Reports indicated that police used force to disperse protesters attempting to breach barricades near Parliament, resulting in injuries to both demonstrators - including minors and women and law enforcement personnel. The opposition has strongly condemned the crackdown as excessive and undemocratic.
Speaking to reporters earlier in the day after meeting injured students at a hospital, Rahul Gandhi expressed deep concern over the government’s response. “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,” he said. He questioned the Prime Minister’s silence, adding, “Modi ji has not even apologised for what happened yesterday. Why is the Prime Minister silent? He should apologise to the students and stop this nonsense of thrashing students.”
Gandhi further accused the ruling dispensation of being hostile to the aspirations of India’s young population. In a video message, he described Prime Minister Modi as “the most anti-youth Prime Minister in India’s history,” emphasising that tear-gassing and lathi-charging students “is not democratic. It’s not India's way and it is not the way this should be done.” He highlighted the systemic frustrations: “The boys and girls who are walking the streets of Delhi are not criminals. They are demanding their rights... an education system that respects them, that is fair, that is working.”
The Congress leaders demanded accountability at the highest levels, calling for the resignations of the Education Minister, Home Minister Amit Shah, and even Prime Minister Modi himself for what they termed the destruction of the youth’s future. Rahul Gandhi posted on X: “We have marched to PM Modi’s house to demand answers from him for the brutalities against young students yesterday. The Government doesn’t want to take any accountability, or does it want to have a debate on it in Parliament. PM and HM must resign for destroying the future of India’s youth.”
During the sit-in, Congress workers and supporters gathered in solidarity, but several were reportedly detained by security forces as authorities attempted to manage the situation near the high-security zone. Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain stated that talks with government representatives, including Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh and Home Secretary Govind Mohan, were inconclusive. “They wanted us to withdraw the protest, and we did not agree because our demands were not met,” he said. Hussain added that more MPs, workers, and common citizens would join the demonstration.
The protests have spilled over into Parliament, where both Houses were adjourned amid uproar on Monday and Tuesday. The opposition, including the INDIA bloc, has been pressing for a detailed discussion on the examination crises, paper leaks, and the police violence. Rahul Gandhi, along with other leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge, met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to push for this debate but claimed procedural hurdles prevented immediate action.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who actively participated in the hospital visit and the subsequent protest, has been vocal in supporting the students’ cause, enquiring about the well-being of the injured and amplifying calls for justice. The Congress has framed the events as part of a larger pattern of suppressing youth voices and failing to address deep-rooted issues in education, from paper leaks to limited opportunities, which they argue are pushing young Indians toward despair.
The government has maintained that police acted professionally in response to attempts to breach security cordons, with reports of injuries on both sides. Union Minister JP Nadda reportedly held talks with CJP delegations, appealing for the protests to end peacefully. However, the opposition remains firm, vowing to continue street and parliamentary pressure until accountability is delivered.
