Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, demanding accountability for what he termed a ‘barbaric assault’ on students during the July 20 protests in the national capital’s Jantar Mantar. 

He alleged that security forces used ‘indiscriminate force,’ including lethal weapons and tear gas against peaceful demonstrators, Gandhi claimed that hundreds of students had sustained injuries in the crackdown. 

Gandhi’s letter comes a day after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stepped down from his post in the thick of nationwide protests over alleged exam irregularities and paper leaks, a controversy that has fuelled widespread political stand-off. 

Gandhi remarked, “We hold Amit Shah directly responsible for the violence which took place against our students. He authorised the shooting of our students. He authorised the use of lethal weapons, including pellet guns, against our students. For us, this is a fundamental issue.”

Protests escalated into violence during ‘Sansad Chalo’ march

The demonstrations at Jantar Mantar were spearheaded by the online satirical outfit Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and were backed by activist Sonam Wangchuk. The protests culminated in a ‘Chalo Sansad’ (march to Parliament) move on July 20, 2026. 

Wangchuk had earlier observed a 26-day hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in solidarity with the students demanding a transparent and accountable examination system following allegations of recurring paper leaks. As protestors tried advancing towards the Parliament, police resorted to lathi charges and fired tear gas shells to disperse the swelling crowd. The action triggered sharp criticism from Opposition parties, who accused the government of using excessive force against peaceful demonstrators. 

The then Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, tendered his resignation to Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on Saturday, saying he wanted to ensure the protests were not ‘exploited by anti-national forces.’

Gandhi questions use of pellet guns

In his letter to Home Minister Shah, Gandhi outlined allegations that women students had been assaulted by cops, claiming that some officers had deliberately targeted their private parts during the crackdown. He also cited the case of 19-year-old student Sahil Lochab, whom he recently met, alleging that the youth was writhing in pain and was at risk of losing an eye after being hit by pellet gun fire. 

The Centre had not issued a detailed response to these allegations at the time of Gandhi’s press conference. 

Two direct questions asked to Home Minister

Gandhi sought clarity on the sequence of events of July 20, posing two direct questions to Home Minister Shah. He asked whether the Home Minister had authorised the use of pellet guns and other forms of lethal force against student protestors. 

If not, he demanded to know who had given the nod to their use. Furthermore, Gandhi also questioned the identity of men dressed in civil clothes who were allegedly seen thrashing protestors with lathis, asking whether they were police personnel or volunteers, and who authorised their deployment. 

Towards the end, Gandhi said the Opposition would also raise the aforementioned questions during the upcoming session of the Parliament and also demanded that PM Modi apologise to the protesting students for the government’s handling of their grievances.