Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Sabha, on Friday alleged that pellet guns were used against students who participated during Cockroach Janta Party's 'Chalo Sansad' march towards the Parliament earlier this week and said the government must apologise to the youth.
Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi along with an alleged 19-year-old pellet gun victim, the Congress MP reiterated that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan must resign over irregularities in NEET UG examination, alleging that the entire education system has collapsed under him.
"The government said pellet guns were not used, but it is a lie. They are the future of India, but pellet guns were used against the students and they were lathi-charged. They were just doing a peaceful protest against the (NEET) paper leak. This has happened to lakhs of people. The government should stop lying," the Lok Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli said.
"Dharmendra Pradhan is a criminal education minister. He has to be removed. He is a symbol of the collapse of our education system. He has to go. He is the reason why thousands of people are outside. He has to go," Rahul added.
Multiple reports have claimed that pellet guns were used on Monday during the clashes between CJP protesters and the Delhi Police. Several alleged victims have also come forward and shown the injuries they suffered due to the pellet guns.
However, the Delhi Police have refuted such reports, calling them "completely false and misleading". In a post on X (previously Twitter) on July 22, it said the Delhi Police does not possess pellet guns and they were not used against students during the CJP protest.
The Delhi Police also said the public should avoid sharing or circulating any "unverified or misleading information".
Coming to the NEET paper leak protest, the government and the CJP held talks on Friday, with the latter claiming that the Centre has sought time till Saturday over Pradhan's resignation. The CJP representatives, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, also submitted their written demands to the government.
Meanwhile, Union Minister JP Nadda said the talks were held in a cordial manner and anther meeting will be held on Saturday afternoon.
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