NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said Opposition MPs took to the streets in solidarity with protesting students over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak, alleging that they were stopped by authorities while attempting to march to India Gate and later Gandhi Smriti.Speaking to reporters after Opposition leaders were halted, Congress MP said the message of the protest was to assure students that the INDIA bloc stood firmly with them.“Our students are on the road, so all the Opposition MPs felt that we should also be on the road. All the Opposition MPs wanted to go to India Gate. They refused, stopped us. Then we said that we want to go Tees January (Gandhi Smriti). They have put the bus here and left it. We are not able to go ahead but the main message is to the students. We are with you,” he said.
INDIA bloc heads to Gandhi Smriti in support of students
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi announced that INDIA bloc leaders would travel to Gandhi Smriti on Tees January Marg to express solidarity with students affected by the NEET-UG controversy and those injured during recent protests.In a post on X, Rahul said the visit was also meant to remember students who had allegedly died by suicide following the paper leak controversy.“Right now, MPs and leaders of the INDIA alliance are peacefully heading to Gandhi Smriti on Tees January Marg. We go to remember the students we lost – the children driven to take their own lives after the NEET paper leak. And we go to stand with the students who lie injured today – beaten for peacefully demanding justice and accountability. India’s students are not alone. The entire Opposition stands with them and their demands,” he wrote.Opposition MPs boarded a bus from Rahul’s residence for the proposed visit.
Heavy police deployment outside Rahul Gandhi’s residence
Police barricades and a heavy security presence were deployed outside Rahul Gandhi’s residence on Sunehri Bagh Road before the Opposition leaders left.Rapid Action Force buses were also stationed in the area.Congress workers gathered outside the residence, with some allegedly breaching security arrangements, following which police appealed to them to end the protest.Indian Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib alleged that Rahul Gandhi had been placed under “house arrest” to prevent him from joining the demonstration.“There can be no greater misfortune for the country’s politics and democracy than this. We were going towards India Gate, and the country’s Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, was going to raise his voice for the students of the country. But fearing this, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have placed him under house arrest today,” Chib claimed.Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury said the Opposition would not be intimidated.“Wherever we go, this country is ours. These people are intimidating us by calling the police. We are not afraid of this,” she said.Congress MP Rajeev Shukla said, “We are all heading towards Gandhi Smriti…They are scared, so they have put up barricades…”.
Opposition leaders meet amid Parliament deadlock
Before leaving for Gandhi Smriti, several INDIA bloc leaders met at Rahul Gandhi’s residence amid the continuing deadlock in Parliament over the NEET-UG paper leak issue.Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, P Chidambaram, KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Pramod Tiwari, Renuka Chowdhury, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule, RJD MP Misa Bharati, TMC leaders Mahua Moitra and suspended MP Kalyan Banerjee, CPI MP P. Sandosh Kumar and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant were among those present.The meeting comes as the Opposition continues to demand Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation and a discussion under Rule 267 in the Rajya Sabha over the NEET-UG paper leak.The Centre has maintained that it is willing to discuss the issue but has objected to the Opposition attaching preconditions for the debate.
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