Where is Amit Shah?: Opposition slams alleged use of AK-47 on Bihar protesters

The Congress on Monday, 27 July, launched a blistering attack on the BJP over allegations that AK-47 rifles were used against protesting students in Bihar, with Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologise to the country's students and take action against those responsible.

The controversy intensified after a police constable was suspended and an inquiry ordered over a viral video purportedly showing him using an AK-47 rifle during a student protest in Bihar's Siwan district on 25 July. While Siwan superintendent of police Puran Kumar Jha told PTI no one was injured and that police personnel had been expressly instructed not to open fire, Hindustan Times reported that at least three students were injured in the alleged police firing, with officials probing whether the injuries were caused by police bullets.

Despite the suspension and the ongoing inquiry, the BJP accused Gandhi of attempting to "manufacture a protest" and spread "canards and falsity" by alleging that AK-47 rifles had been used against agitating students in Bihar. The ruling party termed Gandhi's remarks "not only deeply unfortunate, but a sin".

In a social media post in Hindi, Gandhi alleged that the government had turned "murderous" towards students. 'The entire system is downright murderous against students. Reports are coming in that AK-47s have been fired at protesting students in Bihar, and hundreds have been arrested and booked under FIRs,' he said.

Questioning Modi's earlier assurance that no FIRs would be filed against students, Gandhi asked, 'Modi ji, what happened to your promise that no FIRs would be filed against students and that they would be released? Instead, they are being subjected to deadly attacks and brutality.'

Drawing a parallel with the police response to protests in Delhi, he said, 'Pellet guns were used against students in Delhi, and AK-47s in Bihar. Whether it is Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, or Delhi -- the pattern is the same everywhere.

'I have said it before: this government is dishonest. Reform is beyond its capability. It will renege on its promises and use every tactic to suppress the students' voices.'

He called on the prime minister to apologise to the country's students and take action against those who had 'attacked and brutalised' them.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also condemned the reported use of force, insisting that students should not be treated as enemies of the state. "The protesting students are not terrorists," she said.

Referring to reports that FIRs were still being registered against students in Bihar and West Bengal, she also claimed she had heard, though had not independently verified, that parents of girls who took part in the protests had received calls questioning why they allowed their daughters to join the demonstrations.

"Can't girls protest? Pellet guns, AK-47s, are they terrorists? What is wrong with these people?" she asked. "And what was the need for AK-47s and such weapons at the protest site? The students are not terrorists."

Congress MP and general-secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal targeted Union home minister Amit Shah, asking him to explain "who ordered the use of AK-47s in Bihar and pellet guns in Delhi during the students' protests".

Lawyer and Congress MP Manish Tewari said the fundamental question was whether pellet guns or AK-47 rifles could ever be justified against unarmed and non-violent protesters. "The answer is absolutely no," he said, noting that the Supreme Court has laid down a standard operating procedure for handling protests. Authorities, he said, must first announce prohibitory orders, then use water cannons if required, followed by lathi-charge and tear gas, with firing permitted only in the most extreme circumstances and only on the orders of the duty magistrate or the senior-most police officer present.

"What happened to unarmed students in Bihar was barbaric, inhuman, and an atrocity. Excessive and coercive force should never be used without clear orders from the highest level," Tewari said.

The BJP, however, maintained that Gandhi was attempting to create an atmosphere of anarchy through false allegations and demanded that he apologise for spreading "canards and falsity".

Left-wing student organisations held demonstrations across Bihar on 25 July in support of a statewide bandh over the NEET paper leak and police action against protesting students in Delhi and elsewhere. Some of the protests turned violent.

Leader of opposition in the Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav alleged that police fired AK-47 rifles at protesters during the demonstration in Siwan.

During the Cockroach Janta Party-led 'Sansad Chalo' march in Delhi on 20 July to protest the NEET paper leak, police and security forces controversially used pellet guns, batons and tear gas to disperse demonstrators, most of whom were students. Scores of protesters and police personnel were injured.

With PTI inputs