4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 29, 2026 08:07 PM IST
Questioning the use of pellet guns against students protesting the alleged NEET paper leak, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi demanded that Home Minister Amit Shah be sacked over the police crackdown. Gandhi said Shah was either “culpable or incompetent” in the police response against protesters during the Parliament march on July 22. Either Shah ordered that students be shot with pellet guns and beaten with lathis with nails or he was unaware: “either way, he has to go,” the Congress leader added.
Earlier in the day, the remarks of Gandhi, who’s the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, were expunged. Gandhi said he was asked to apologise and was repeatedly denied permission to continue his speech in the Lok Sabha despite Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh being allowed to speak. He claimed he was told he could resume speaking if he apologised, but said he will, “never apologise to the BJP or the RSS.”
Police brutality during Chalo Sansad CJP march
Rahul Gandhi claimed that protesters participating in the march were beaten with lathis and nails. He said the issue of students being assaulted was fundamental, affecting not just him but millions of people, including students across the country.
“They are brutalised through facial recognition and the mobilisation of the Bajrang Dal,” Gandhi alleged.
He further claimed that the Delhi Police and the Rapid Action Force (RAF), both of which report to the Union Home Minister, were responsible for the violence.
Letter that went unanswered
Rahul Gandhi also claimed that he had written to Amit Shah seeking answers on the alleged use of force and pellet guns against students, but received no response.
He also questioned the identity of individuals present at the protest in civilian clothes, asking whether they were policemen or someone else.
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Questioning Amit Shah’s absence from Parliament during the discussion, Gandhi said, “Why has Amit Shah not come to the House? Why is he not coming? He is supposedly the brave Home Minister of India. If he did not issue any order, then he should come and clarify that he did not. In any case, the larger issue is that I have the right to speak in Parliament, and I should be allowed to exercise that right”.
Criticising what he called the image-building exercise of the BJP, Gandhi said, “Images are being created : Amit Shah is the hero, Modi is the god. There’s a perception that if Modi puts a mobile camera on his face, he will be able to communicate with Gen Z. That’s not true. Their image has been tarnished. I am thankful to the students.”
Anti-paper leak Bill a punishment tool: Rahul
Gandhi also criticised the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, saying it was not an anti-paper leak law but merely a “punishment tool.”
“A paper leak bill stops exam paper leakages, not just punishes those involved,” he said.
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The Bill, passed by Parliament on July 29, 2026, sets a two-month deadline for completing investigations into paper leak cases. It increases the punishment for those involved in unfair means, including paper leaks, from three to five years under the 2024 Act to five to 10 years. The fine has also been increased from Rs 1o lakh to Rs 50 lakh.
FIRs against students
Responding to a question about FIRs being filed against students despite the government’s assurance that no action would be taken, Gandhi said, “I am concerned that, in the shadows, silently, the Home Minister is attacking the students through facial recognition, with the Bajrang Dal mobilised against them. That is why I am standing here today and holding this press conference.”
