Congress and allies take NEET protest to PM’s doorstep; Rahul Gandhi arrested: Modi will not be able to escape

Opposition politics took center stage in the capital on Tuesday as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi led an unprecedented protest outside the Prime Minister’s residence and a string of leaders visited Jantar Mantar in support of the agitating students, raising the political temperature a day after massive street protests over exam paper leaks rocked Delhi.

Gandhi rallied party MPs, two prime ministers and allies, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule, for an impromptu protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence on 7 Lok Kalyan Marg.

For nearly three-and-a-half hours, Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and a crowd of 200 people sat in solidarity with the protesting students at the Lok Kalyan Marg crossing and Akbar Road, before Delhi Police forcibly dragged them away and put them on buses.

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Gandhi was taken to Chhatrasal Stadium in north Delhi and released around 10 pm. Priyanka Gandhi was taken to Mandir Marg police station in central Delhi, where former Congress party president Sonia Gandhi arrived late in the evening. She was released at 9.45pm.

The government sent Union Minister Jitendra Singh and Union Home Minister Govind Mohan to negotiate with Gandhi but was unsuccessful. Singh later claimed that the Center had accepted Gandhi’s first request for a parliamentary debate on NEET but the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha went back on his word, refusing to vacate the high-security area.

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Sharad Pawar, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray met the students at Jantar Mantar.

Earlier in the day, Union Health Minister JP Nadda and Gandhi visited the hospital to meet the infected students.

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“The attack on students is an attack on every Indian family. Prime Minister Modi believes he can escape without giving answers, without facing any consequences – and he will not be able to, not at all this time… I request every patriotic Indian who believes that our students deserve justice – join us in the dharna in front of the Prime Minister’s residence. The voice of India’s students will not be ignored,” Gandhi said.

When police swooped on the scene at around 4.30pm, Gandhi was seen on the ground struggling as individuals tried to pick him up. “Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has been forcibly removed. What kind of democracy is this?” He said he went out on the X.

This is the first time that an opposition leader, who holds the rank of minister, is sitting near the Prime Minister’s house.

People familiar with the details said the government was open to talks with students and AKP representatives but refused to give guarantees that their demands would be met or a time frame for the next rounds of meetings.

“Some time ago, it came to light that the National President of the Congress Party, Mallikarjun Kharge, and other senior leaders with him, like Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and others, suddenly sat on a protest sit-in near Akbar Road at a place with their supporters. Considering the dignity of this high-level delegation, the government personally sent me, along with Union Home Minister, Govind Mohan, to the place to hold talks with these senior leaders. A request was made to Rahul Gandhi to end his sit-in, as this The site is not intended for protests and holding a sit-in here is causing great inconvenience to the general public,” Singh wrote on X.

He said Gandhi had asked to discuss the issues of NEET and the student movement in Parliament before ending his sit-in. “Within a few moments, after getting permission from the government’s high command, Rahul Gandhi was assured that his request had been accepted… When this information was conveyed to Rahul Gandhi, he said that he would not agree to this alone, but also sought assurances about the resignation of the Union Education Minister,” Singh added.

The minister said that when Gandhi was reminded that he had earlier demanded only discussion, he said his demands had changed. “When an attempt was made to explain to him in all humility that it was not befitting for a senior leader like him to go back on his word so quickly, he said that it was his prerogative. When the Home Minister tried to explain to him that this location was not suitable for a sit-in, his response was that he also has the right to sit wherever he wants… For a senior leader like Rahul Gandhi and the Leader of the Opposition to go back on his word is unfortunate and goes against all norms of democracy. The government is ready to discuss all issues related to NEET and the associated movement in Parliament,” Singh said.

Pradhan accused Gandhi of using students as a political tool to disrupt the monsoon session. “For Rahul Gandhi, it is not about the students. It is about manufacturing confrontation after opening every real avenue for discussion. Our government remains 100% committed to discussing TVET and addressing all the real concerns of our youth on the floor of the House. India’s students deserve much better than being treated like Props in a political campaign.”

During the police crackdown that followed, Gandhi could be seen lying on the road, refusing to move. Rajya Sabha MP Renuka Chowdhury sat on the steps of the bus, obstructing the police. Kerala Chief Minister V D Sathisan and Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar also joined the protests.

Earlier in the day, Karg told HT, “The opposition suggested to both Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Speaker CB Radhakrishnan to hold a discussion on NEET, other exam paper leaks and the brutal crackdown on students in Delhi on Monday. The government did not agree to us. We will continue the protests.” He also met Khargaj Yadav. The latter favored protests.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs Sanjay Raut and Arvind Sawant, Rajya Sabha MP Mahwa Majhi, AAP leader Gopal Rai, Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani and a delegation from Left parties were also at Jantar Mantar.

“The Modi government attacked these children with extreme brutality. These children were defenseless. They had no weapons, no sticks, no batons – nothing at all… Modi ji attacked these children with tremendous cruelty,” Kejriwal said.

His party colleagues attacked Gandhi. “In order to weaken the CJP’s dharna, Modi put Rahul Gandhi on a dharna at his residence,” party MP Sanjay Singh posted on X.

In 2011, supporters of the anti-corruption campaign led by Anna Hazare held a peaceful demonstration outside the residence of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. More than 400 protesters were arrested and later released.

In 2013, around 200 members of the BJP’s youth wing were arrested outside Prime Minister Singh’s residence while demanding his resignation after two Union ministers resigned over allegations of wrongdoing. The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) activists were led by the then BJYM president Anurag Thakur and the then Delhi unit president of the BJP, Vijay Goel.

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal also attacked the government. “The government showed their brutality yesterday. Today they repeated this brutality… They are completely undemocratic.”

The crowds swelled over the weekend, and by Monday morning, queues of people — many of them students, first-time agitators and young professionals — braved persistent monsoon rains and heavy police barriers to join what became the largest street protests in the capital in years.