Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and several Opposition leaders on Thursday reached Gandhi Smriti on Tees January Marg to pay homage to students who allegedly died by suicide over the NEET paper leak controversy and to express solidarity with those injured during the recent police action on protesters.
The visit, however, was marked by heavy police presence, barricades and claims by the Congress that Opposition leaders were stopped from moving freely.
Opposition MPs gathered at Rahul Gandhi’s residence on Sunehri Bagh Road before setting out for Gandhi Smriti.
Barricades, bus, India Gate nod denied
According to reports, Police initially put up barricades on Sunehri Bagh Road to stop Congress and Youth Congress workers from moving towards Tees January Marg. The barricades were later removed, allowing Rahul Gandhi and the MPs to proceed.
In a post on X, Congress leader P Chidambaram said the MPs had been waiting inside the buses for over 25 minutes, alleging that roads across central Delhi had been barricaded and hundreds of police personnel deployed.
“We are sitting in buses for over 25 minutes. All roads are barricaded and hundreds of policemen are mobilised to ‘secure’ the roads of Delhi! What is the government afraid of? Why this sense of panic?” he wrote.
However, near Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s residence, the leaders were stopped again, with police citing prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which prohibits the assembly of five or more people in the area. They were later allowed to continue towards Gandhi Smriti.
Speaking to reporters while inside a bus, Gandhi alleged that the Opposition had first sought permission to visit India Gate in solidarity with students but was denied.
“In solidarity with the students, we wanted to take the Opposition MPs to India Gate. But then they refused. So then we wanted to take them to Tees January Marg, Gandhiji’s assassination site. And now what they’ve done is they’ve put this bus in front of us. They’ve put up barricades and parked a bus on this side here. So we can’t go. And they’re doing a drama. Obviously, they’re scared,” Gandhi said.
“All the MPs felt that if the students are on the streets, we should also be on the streets,” he added.
‘Oppn stands with students’
In a post on X, Gandhi said the Opposition leaders were heading to Gandhi Smriti to remember students who had allegedly taken their own lives following the NEET paper leak controversy and to stand with those injured during the recent protests.
“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.
Several senior Opposition leaders accompanied Gandhi, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, P Chidambaram, KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Pramod Tiwari and Renuka Chowdhury. Leaders from other INDIA bloc parties, including Supriya Sule of the NCP (Sharad Pawar), RJD’s Misa Bharti, Trinamool Congress leaders Mahua Moitra and Kalyan Banerjee, CPI’s P Sandosh Kumar and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant, also joined the march.
Congress workers alleged that Gandhi had effectively been placed under “house arrest” after police erected barricades outside his residence, news agency ANI reported. Indian Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib accused the Centre of trying to stop the Leader of the Opposition from raising students’ concerns, while Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury said the party would not be intimidated by the police.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
