Un-Indian, PM must apologise: Rahul Gandhi on cops beating students at CJP stir

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on the police crackdown on students at the CJP protest march, while demanding that he apologises for the act.

In Short

• Rahul Gandhi says education system loopholes raised by students are legitimate
• Akhilesh Yadav likens central government to Hitler's rule
• Gandhi claims Om Birla cited govt nod to allow Parliament discussion on police crackdown

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the lathicharge on students at the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest on Monday, calling the act "un-Indian". Speaking to reporters, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, appeared livid and questioned PM Modi's silence on the matter. "What's happening, people being beaten, is completely un-Indian. Modi hasn't even apologised for what happened yesterday," he said.

Gandhi along with a few other Opposition MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla earlier in the day, urging a discussion on the crackdown in Parliament. On that, he claimed that Birla denied agreeing to it readily, explaining that he first needed to take permission from the central government.

"Think about it, the Speaker is telling us that to debate in Parliament he has to take permission from the government. He is openly telling us that," the Congress leader told reporters.

Talking about the issues with the Indian education and testing system that students have been raising, Rahul Gandhi said that the concerns are much bigger than mere education. He claimed the testing system had "ceased to exist" and was "hollowed out by termites", stressing that the demand is legitimate. "There is nothing wrong with it...Why is the Prime Minister silent? What is the reason? He should apologise to the students, and he should stop this nonsense (referencing the lathicharge on students)."

Bashing the Centre, the former Congress chief said that instead of acknowledging their concerns and working to better the education system and fix the examination framework, police are cracking down on students.

He further slammed Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying he should resign, and since he reports to the PM, the latter should step down as well. "Dharmendra Pradhan is an intermediary. He should absolutely resign, but he hasn't beaten up these students. The Home Minister has. He should resign, and since the Home Minister reports to the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister should resign. What is going on?"

Echoing Gandhi's sentiment, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged the Centre used their "private army" to thrash students and likened the PM Modi-led NDA government to Hitler's regime. "Private army used by the government yesterday against students. Hitler used the private army against his own people. Similarly, this government used the private army to crack down on students," he added.

Yadav claimed that the Centre is unable to fire its ministers, fearing they will "leak their secrets".

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi also slammed the Centre, saying that paper leaks have become normal nowadays and no concrete action is ever taken. "I remember when I was working in Uttar Pradesh, paper leaks used to happen back then. One or two lower-level officials would be arrested, kept in the police station for two days, and then the matter would end there. No concrete action was taken against anyone."

She further said that the issues are serious since it's about the "future of the country's youth". "Young people are wondering what their future holds. Their parents are taking loans and enduring great hardship to educate them. The students themselves are saying they are struggling, and it's all very difficult for them. Look at the coaching centres. I've visited many. Every parent knows the pressure their children face during their studies and the anxiety and stress they experience during exams. It's a truly difficult situation," she said.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal also slammed the police brutality, saying that instead of fixing the education system, the Centre had "declared war on the country's youth". "The youth will by no means tolerate Modi ji's arrogance."

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also blasted the central government for the "injustice and atrocity" and questioned why the Opposition was silenced. "Tear gas has been used. Many students are in the hospital. This injustice and atrocity is taking place. We demanded that the government address this issue. We wanted to know where the students should be. We wanted to know what was discussed with Nadda. What was discussed in your internal meeting? Make a statement on this. The floor leader should be given a chance to express his views. We wanted to raise this issue in the House, but they silenced us. They are trying to destroy democracy. Why did lathicharge happen? An attempt is being made to create anarchy," he added.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda met the injured protesters at both RML Hospital and Lady Hardinge on Tuesday. Rahul Gandhi also met the injured protesters at the RML and so did Arvind Kejriwal.

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