Congress Leaders Detained During Protest Outside PM Modi's Residence Over Examination Row
New Delhi, July 21: Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several other senior party leaders were detained by Delhi Police on Monday after staging a sit-in outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, demanding action over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations.
The Congress leaders, accompanied by Members of Parliament and party workers, attempted to march towards the Prime Minister’s residence to protest against the police action on students who had participated in the “Chalo Sansad” march over alleged examination irregularities. The party also demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, alleging failures in addressing examination-related controversies, including the NEET-UG issue.
Security personnel stopped the march with multiple layers of barricades and a heavy deployment of Delhi Police and paramilitary forces. After the protesters refused to disperse and staged a sit-in, police detained Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several other Congress leaders and workers.
Among those participating were K.C. Venugopal, Pawan Khera, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Deepender Singh Hooda and Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar. During the protest, Union Minister Jitendra Singh met Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders. The Congress reiterated its demand for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and sought a discussion in Parliament on examination irregularities and the police action against students.
Rahul Gandhi said the march was organised to seek answers from the Prime Minister over the police action against students, alleging that the government was unwilling to take accountability or allow a debate in Parliament. He also demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister.
The Congress has maintained that repeated controversies surrounding competitive examinations have weakened confidence in the recruitment and admission process and has sought reforms to restore the credibility of the examination system.
The Centre has maintained that it is committed to protecting the integrity of the examination system and has defended the actions of law enforcement agencies.
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