Rahul, Kharge stage sit-in protest outside PM's house, demand resignation

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, accompanied by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and several top leaders, sat on a protest dharna outside the Prime Minister's Lok Kalyan Marg residence on Tuesday and demanded the resignation of PM Narendra Modi over police action against students protesting on the NEET paper leak issue.

After nearly 20 minutes, Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh met Gandhi at the protest site and urged him to end his dharna. The unprecedented scenes unfolded soon after Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met the injured students at a hospital here.

 

Singh was accompanied by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan at the protest site.

Gandhi, along with Kharge and chief ministers of Karnataka D K Shivakumar and Kerala CM V D Satheesan, besides several Congress MPs, raised slogans against the Prime Minister outside his residence.

Several MPs also accused the police of using force against them in their bid to remove them from the protest site.

The Congress leaders earlier marched to the prime minister's residence against what they alleged were "police brutalities" on the young students during the CJP-led protest march to Parliament on Monday.

"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, nor does it want to have a debate on it in Parliament," Gandhi said in a post on X.

"The Prime Minister and Home Minister must resign for destroying the future of India's youth," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

The Congress Party stands with the students' rights and their legitimate demands.

Kharge said the Congress leaders were sitting on a dharna outside the Prime Minister's residence.

"This cowardly authoritarian government will have to answer for the lathi charge and use of force.

"Modi-Shah are guilty against our youth; they will have to resign," he said in a post on X.

Gandhi, along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other Congress leaders, earlier met some of the students injured in Monday's police action at the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital.

Congress leaders alleged that they have always stood with the rights of youth and students and their demands.

"This arrogant and dictatorial government will have to answer for the brutal lathi charge on students. This arrogant government is guilty of the crime against the youth; they will have to resign," said Randeep Surjewala in a post on X.