New Delhi: Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LOP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday, demanded the removal of Union home minister Amit Shah, holding him responsible for the alleged police action against protesters during the ‘Sansad Chalo’ march on July 20.
The government had earlier denied that any firing on protesters had taken place and that in any case such orders were not given by a minister but by the administration.
Rahul addressed a press conference after Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Shah and order a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the incident, as reported by ThePrint.
Students and protesters were subjected to excessive force by the Delhi Police and the Rapid Action Force (RAF), he claimed.
Demonstrators were beaten with lathis, nail-studded batons, fired upon with pellet guns and attacked by men in plain clothes, Rahul alleged. He also claimed facial recognition technology was being used against protesters and questioned the identity of those allegedly involved in the violence.
“The Delhi Police and the RAF both report to Amit Shah. There are only two possibilities — either Amit Shah ordered the violence against innocent protesters or he was so incompetent that he had no idea it was being carried out. Irrespective, he should go,” Rahul demanded.
He also questioned the presence of unidentified men during the clashes and asked: “Who were these people in civil clothes attacking the protesters? Who were these goons?”
“Bajrang Dal is being used against our own students,” he alleged.
The Congress MP also criticised the government’s handling of the education system, saying that the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, passed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, failed to address the real problem.
“This is a paper leak punishment Bill. It is just a rubber stamp on the students, its a bandaid,” he said, adding that if the BJP was genuinely serious about reforming education, “the RSS should be removed from the education system”.
Rahul also accused the government of silencing him in Parliament when he attempted to raise the issue.
“I asked the Speaker multiple times for permission to speak. I wasn’t allowed to speak in Parliament. I said Amit Shah was responsible for the brutality that was carried out. I was given the assurance that if I apologised, I would be allowed to speak. I will never apologise to the BJP, the RSS or anyone affiliated to them,” he said.
“The most important issue for me is our students. People who are open-minded, who ask questions, were brutalised on the streets of Delhi. They were shot with pellet guns. The brutalisation of students is a fundamental issue, not just for them but for millions of people,” Rahul added.
He had seen Union minister Jitendra Singh receiving repeated phone calls from Amit Shah inside Parliament while the developments were unfolding, the LOP claimed.
“When I was at Parliament House, I saw Jitendra Singh getting call after call from Amit Shah. If he didn’t know it was happening, he is incompetent.”
He took a swipe at Shah for not responding in Parliament. “He doesn’t have the guts to answer your questions. He won’t stand in front of you and take your questions,” he told journalists.
Rahul also traned his guns on Prime Minister Modi, saying: “Just because the Prime Minister is making reels, he thinks he can communicate with Gen Z. But the problem is your image. What you have done to the economy and to students is already out there.”
Assuring protesters that the Opposition would continue to pursue the issue, he said: “This is our guarantee that the guilty will pay. We demand that the Prime Minister sack Amit Shah and order a Supreme Court probe.”
