Rahul, Priyanka lead march to PM's residence, demand Modi's resignation

Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress general-secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday, 21 July led a march to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Kalyan Marg residence, demanding the resignation of the prime minister over the police action against students protesting the alleged NEET paper leak.

The protest, led by Rahul, Priyanka and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, culminated in a dharna outside the prime minister's residence, where several Congress MPs and senior leaders joined them, raising slogans against the Centre.

The Congress accused the government of unleashing "police brutalities" on students during Monday's Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led march to Parliament over alleged irregularities in examinations.

"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," Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X. "The Prime Minister and Home Minister must resign for destroying the future of India's youth."

Earlier in the day, Rahul and Priyanka visited the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital to meet students injured during Monday's police action.

The Congress has stepped up its attack on the Centre following the crackdown on the protest, alleging excessive use of force against students and demanding accountability from the government over both the handling of the demonstrations and the alleged examination irregularities.

Earlier in the day, he met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and sought a discussion on the police action in Parliament. "The Speaker told us that he would have to seek the government's permission for a discussion. In other words, the Speaker is saying that he needs the government's permission to hold a debate in Parliament," Gandhi said.

Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi asked why he had remained silent on the police action. "Why is the Prime Minister silent? What is the reason? He should apologise to the students and stop this nonsense of police personnel thrashing students," he said.

While no official figure on the number of injured protesters has been released, information gathered from multiple government hospitals suggests that more than 100 people were admitted at various hospitals in the capital following Monday's clashes.

Sources told National Herald that six to seven injured protesters are currently admitted to Safdarjung Hospital. A senior resident doctor at RML told NH that over 65 injured protesters were brought to the hospital on Monday.

PTI reported that a young woman injured during the police action is on ventilator support at RML Hospital. The woman sustained injuries during Monday's clashes, though hospital authorities have not issued an official medical bulletin.

Rahul Gandhi met several injured students at RML Hospital, some of whom had travelled from Faridabad to participate in the protest. While the hospital administration declined to provide an updated count of those injured, RML had on Tuesday briefly issued a statement saying that 65 people had been admitted following the clashes.

The statement, however, was later removed from the hospital's official social media timeline, raising further questions over the government's reluctance to disclose the extent of injuries sustained during the police action.

A postgraduate doctor at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital said more than 30 injured persons were treated there, while a senior doctor at Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) told NH that over 35 injured protesters were admitted to the hospital.

Despite repeated attempts, hospital authorities did not provide official figures. Public relations officers of several hospitals did not respond to calls and messages.

Queries raised by health reporters on official media WhatsApp also went unanswered. A senior journalist who has covered the health ministry for over a decade alleged that hospitals were under pressure not to disclose the number of injured protesters.

"The government may not want these figures in the public domain because of the optics," the journalist said, pointing to the ongoing BRICS health ministers' meeting in New Delhi. Union health minister J.P. Nadda is expected to attend the meeting on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police said more than 118 personnel were injured during the clashes and put the number of injured protesters at 60.

The CJP, however, has alleged excessive use of force by the police. The protest turned violent after police resorted to a lathi-charge in the evening. Tear gas shells were fired at several locations and eyewitnesses alleged that pellet guns were also used. Both protesters and police personnel sustained injuries, while incidents of stone-pelting were reported from parts of the protest route.

With PTI inputs