Rahul Gandhi seeks Modi resignation after crackdown on student protests in Delhi

NEW DELHI: Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resign after police moved against student-led protests in the capital over education reforms and exam-related grievances.

Gandhi, who leads the opposition in the lower house and is a senior Congress Party figure, made the demand in a social media post while leading a march with other lawmakers towards the prime minister’s residence in New Delhi. He said Modi should step down for destroying the future of India’s youth.

He also accused the government of avoiding responsibility over the issue and refusing to allow a discussion in parliament. Later, Gandhi staged a sit-in outside Modi’s residence as protesters shouted slogans including demands for justice and chants against the prime minister. AFP journalists later saw Gandhi and other parliamentarians being taken away from the area in a bus.

Clashes and injuries

The political confrontation followed major clashes in central New Delhi on Monday, when thousands gathered in what police described as the biggest street demonstration in the capital in about five years. The protesters were demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan after an appeal by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) online movement.

Police said 60 protesters were injured in the clashes. Delhi Police also said at least 118 of its personnel were hurt. Security forces used tear gas and batons, while protesters responded by throwing stones.

Congress leader Sandeep Dixit told AFP that the previous day’s events amounted to a trampling of the Constitution and said no self-respecting politician or citizen could remain on the sidelines after that.

Protest movement presses on

The CJP said it would continue its campaign and kept up pressure for Pradhan’s removal. Thousands remained at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar protest site on Tuesday, with many also demanding broader changes in the education system.

CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said on social media that the movement would not stop until Pradhan was removed. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke urged supporters not to lose heart and said the authorities wanted to break the protesters’ spirit.

Ranka also criticised the official response and told AFP that the police had brutally beaten students who had come for a genuine cause. He said he had met senior minister JP Nadda on Monday, but the government had still not answered the protesters’ demands.

One protester, 25-year-old law student Chandra Pratap Sishwi, said the police action had made demonstrators more determined, adding that seeing people beaten had enraged him.

Parliament row and exam scandals

India’s parliament was adjourned on Tuesday after opposition members demanded a debate on what they described as brutality against students.

The protests come amid growing anger over a series of examination controversies. Last month, around 2.2 million medical aspirants had to retake an exam under heavy security after the earlier paper was scrapped because of a leak. Another controversy involved the online marking of exams taken by nearly two million high school students.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju defended the government, saying several people had been arrested after the exam paper leaks and that the administration had acted quickly. He also said Modi had called for a foolproof system to prevent such irregularities in the future during a closed-door meeting with allies on Tuesday. Modi has not commented directly on the protests.

The unrest has unfolded despite strong economic growth, with many people in the world’s most populous country still struggling to secure stable and well-paying jobs, adding to wider dissatisfaction.