Police evict Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav from dharna near PM’s residence

New Delhi: Police forcibly removed Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and several opposition MPs from their dharna site near Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official residence in New Delhi on Tuesday, after they marched towards Lok Kalyan Marg demanding action over alleged examination paper leaks and police action against student protesters.

Rahul Gandhi, who sat on the road refusing to leave, was surrounded by several police personnel before being escorted into a police vehicle along with other opposition leaders. The protest came a day after a students’ march to Parliament witnessed police intervention.

Earlier, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi led party workers from Kharge’s residence to the Prime Minister’s residence, intensifying the opposition’s campaign on education-related issues. Before being detained, Rahul appealed to people to join the dharna, saying, “An attack on students is an attack on every Indian family,” and accused the government of failing to answer concerns raised by students.

In a significant development, Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh met Rahul Gandhi at the protest site. Congress leaders said the talks remained inconclusive as the party insisted on the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and a discussion in Parliament on alleged examination paper leaks.

Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain said the party would continue its protest until its demands were met. Jitendra Singh, however, maintained that the government was ready to hold a discussion in Parliament on education-related issues and alleged that the Congress later made the minister’s resignation a precondition.

The Congress has also demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah apologise or resign over the police action against protesters during Monday’s march. The protest received support from opposition leaders, including NCP(SP) MP Supriya Sule, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, NCP(SP) president Sharad Pawar and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, signalling broader opposition backing for the agitation.

IANS