NEW DELHI — Political tensions reached a boiling point near 7, Lok Kalyan Marg as Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge, and Priyanka Gandhi launched an unannounced overnight dharna following a high-profile march toward the Prime Minister’s residence.
The escalation came after direct outreach by Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh broke down, with Opposition leaders refusing to end their sit-in without concrete action on paper leak accountability and student safety.
Inconclusive Talks & Expanding Opposition Demands
The high-stakes demonstration marks an aggressive turn in Opposition strategy during the opening week of Parliament’s Monsoon Session:
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Failure of Direct Dialogue: MoS Jitendra Singh personally visited the protest site to hold discussions with Rahul Gandhi. However, Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain confirmed that negotiations ended in a stalemate as the Centre offered no commitments regarding their key structural demands.
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Cabinet Resignation Demands: Moving beyond initial demands for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s exit, the Congress leadership demanded the resignations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah over alleged police action against student demonstrators.
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Parliamentary Disruption: Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha faced abrupt adjournments after Opposition members alleged their microphones were silenced while attempting to raise the issue of student safety and examination reforms.
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Government Stance: Addressing an NDA alliance meeting, PM Modi stated that central agencies have taken strict legal measures against paper leak networks, while Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju urged the Opposition to engage in legislative debate rather than street protests.
