Congress Leaders Detained After Sit-In Near PM's Residence Over NEET Leak
New Delhi: Tensions escalated on Wednesday as senior Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, were detained by police after staging a sit-in protest near Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence. The protest, which also included Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG paper leak issue.
Police said the organisers used a birthday celebration of an elderly leader as a cover to gather supporters and media at an adjacent government bungalow, before moving to a restricted exit gate of the PM's residence. The protest lasted over three hours, with Rahul Gandhi taken to Chhatrasal stadium and Priyanka Gandhi to Mandir Marg police station. All were released later in the evening.
The government had earlier agreed to a debate in Parliament on the NEET paper leak, but Rahul Gandhi insisted on Pradhan's resignation. Union Minister Jitendra Singh said he and Home Secretary Govind Mohan tried to persuade Rahul to lift the protest, but he refused. Singh accused Rahul of conduct unbecoming of a Leader of Opposition, stating that his demand for resignation was an afterthought after the government agreed to a debate.
BJP President Nitin Nabin criticised the protest, calling Rahul a "symbol of anarchy" and saying the Congress was trying to "incite anarchy" outside the PM's residence. Videos of Rahul Gandhi lying on the ground as police detained him went viral on social media. In a post, Rahul said, "An attack on students is an attack on every Indian family. PM Modi believes he can get away without answers, without consequences. He cannot. Not this time."
The protest was also joined by Congress chief ministers V D Satheesan (Kerala) and D K Shivakumar (Karnataka). Political observers see this as the Congress's attempt to assert leadership on the issue amid competition from other opposition parties. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the Congress of colluding with the government to weaken the protest led by the 'Cockroach Janta Party'—a reference to a rival group. AAP MP Sanjay Singh alleged, "Modi ji got Rahul Gandhi to stage a protest outside his own residence."
