Home Minister authorised shooting of students: Uproar over Rahul Gandhi's remark
The Lok Sabha witnessed noisy scenes on Wednesday after Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah
The Lok Sabha witnessed noisy scenes on Wednesday after Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of authorising the use of force against students during the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, drawing strong objections from Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and other NDA MPs. Participating in the debate on the Anti-Paper Leak Bill, the Congress leader alleged that Shah, who was absent from the House at the time, was responsible for the police action against protesting students. Read Full Story “The Home Minister ordered the shooting of our students.
He put pellets into the blood of our students. He ordered the students of India to be shot,” Gandhi said, referring to the police action during the CJP-led agitation. His remarks triggered immediate protests from the Treasury benches, with Rijiju demanding that Gandhi substantiate the allegation. BJP and NDA members accused the Leader of the Opposition of making baseless claims against the Home Minister, leading to sloganeering and brief disruptions in the House. NDA MPs also demanded an apology from Gandhi and asked him to provide evidence to support his allegations, while Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla intervened to remind the Leader of the Opposition that allegations cannot be made in the House without substantiating them with evidence.
The controversy stems from the July 20 CJP protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, where demonstrators clashed with security personnel as they attempted to march towards Parliament under the "Sansad Chalo" call. Police used pellet gun, lathi charges, tear gas shells and other crowd-control measures to disperse the protesters, leaving several students injured. The protests, led by the online collective Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and supported by activist Sonam Wangchuk, were organised over irregularities in the NEET examination and demands for a more transparent and accountable education system. Earlier this week, Gandhi had written to Amit Shah, seeking accountability for what he described as the "barbaric assault" on peaceful protesters.
In his letter, he questioned whether the Home Minister had approved the use of "indiscriminate force, including lethal weapons and tear gas", alleging that the police action left hundreds of demonstrators injured. The protests eventually culminated in the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who said he stepped down to ensure the agitation was not "exploited by anti-national forces." Ends
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