'Who parked truck with stones outside Youth Congress office?'

The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) on Friday, 31 July intensified its attack on the Centre over the 20 July 'Sansad Chalo' march in Delhi, alleging that a truck laden with stones parked near the protest route and later outside its office raised serious questions about police conduct and the government's handling of the demonstration.

At a press conference at the AICC office, IYC leaders demanded an explanation for the truck's presence, questioned what they described as contradictions in the official account and renewed their demand for Union home minister Amit Shah's resignation over the police action against students.

IYC president Uday Bhanu Chib alleged that the dumpster was first spotted near Jantar Mantar early on 20 July before being moved outside the IYC office near Parliament, where he claimed it remained until 25 July. "The question is, on the day of the Parliament March, how was that truck parked there, and on whose orders was this done?" Chib asked.

Describing the episode as a "major security lapse", he questioned the purpose of parking a truck allegedly loaded with stones outside the office of an Opposition party's youth wing. "With what intent was the truck filled with stones parked in front of the IYC office? Did the government want those stones to be used during the protest so that it could then carry out a major crackdown?" he alleged.

Chib also claimed there were inconsistencies in the official explanation surrounding the vehicle. "The surprising thing is that the government counsel in the high court said this truck was connected to the protesters. After that, on 28 July, a tweet from Delhi Police came saying that the truck had been seized after an accident. This in itself is a major contradiction," he alleged.

He further accused the government of adopting different narratives about the vehicle and linked the issue to the police action during the march. "On one hand, Narendra Modi is making videos, and on the other hand, Amit Shah is getting students beaten with batons, tear gas shells fired. The government's game has been exposed," Chib said.

Referring to the police action during the march, Chib said responsibility had to be fixed for the force used against students. "The country's home minister must answer who gave the order to attack the students. If this happened on his instructions, responsibility must be fixed. If it happened without his knowledge, it raises serious questions about the country's internal security apparatus," he said.

IYC leader Shantanu Singh claimed he had seen the truck parked outside the IYC office at around 3.45 am on 20 July, when around 500 students had gathered ahead of the march. He alleged that after the police lathi charge began around noon, he saw several people whom, according to him, the police did not stop climbing onto the truck.

Questioning the vehicle's presence, Singh said there could be "only two possibilities" — either it was intended to trigger violence during the protest or it was meant to be used by security personnel. "In such a situation, the Delhi Police should explain the entire chain of command," he said.

Haryana IYC leader Chitwan Godara said the issue was "not merely a question about a truck" but one of "accountability, truth and the rule of law". She alleged that the Delhi Police's submissions before the Delhi High Court and its subsequent public statements about the truck were inconsistent, and asked who had authorised the narrative presented before the court.

The controversy over the truck has persisted since the day of the protest, when the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) first alleged that a dumper carrying stones had been stationed near Jantar Mantar to provoke violence or falsely implicate protesters.

Delhi Police, however, has rejected those allegations, describing them as "false and misleading". It has said the truck had been seized on 16 July in connection with a road accident and was not deliberately parked near Jantar Mantar or outside the office of any political party.

Earlier on Friday, addressing a gathering in Delhi University's North Campus, Chib said students were subjected to excessive force during the protest and sought accountability for the police action. "The country's home minister must answer who gave the order to attack the students. If this happened on his instructions, responsibility must be fixed. If it happened without his knowledge, it raises serious questions about the country's internal security apparatus," he claimed.