Congress leaders were held by police while protesting alleged police brutality against student demonstrators in New Delhi.
NEW DELHI, India — Web Desk: Indian opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were detained by police on Tuesday during a Congress party protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence.
The Indian National Congress staged a demonstration outside the prime minister’s residence to protest alleged police violence against students. During the protest, Congress leaders demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Modi and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Police subsequently took action, detaining opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, lawmaker Priyanka Gandhi, and several other Congress leaders.
Before his detention, Rahul Gandhi strongly condemned what he described as brutal police action against unarmed activists and students, saying the Hindu nationalist organisation RSS had taken control of India’s education system.
He said thousands of young students and schoolchildren who gathered in New Delhi were making legitimate demands for a better future and improved education, arguing that India’s education system had become deeply flawed. He described the use of shelling and baton charges against students demonstrating for their rights as shameful and undemocratic.
The protest followed a crackdown a day earlier, when Delhi police and individuals in plain clothes were reported to have used force against thousands of young protesters gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Videos and images of the incident circulated widely on social media.
Separately, the Delhi High Court on Monday declined to grant an urgent hearing on a petition filed against the police action, according to Indian media reports. The court said it should not be drawn into the matter and scheduled a formal hearing for Wednesday.
Congress has continued to press its demand for accountability over the police response, framing it as part of a broader dispute over the direction of India’s education policy.
The Delhi High Court’s scheduled hearing on Wednesday is expected to be the next formal step in addressing the petition against the police crackdown on student protesters.
