Rahul attacks Amit Shah after 'pellet guns used against students' during CJP protest

NEW DELHI, July 25: Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, on Saturday reacted to the Narendra Modi government accepting all the demands put by the Cockroach Janta Party, saying it was “one step in a very deep problem” and directly attacking home minister Amit Shah over the alleged use of pellet guns on protesters.

Addressing his second press conference of the day, the Congress leader said the protest was “a warning” from students and the opposition to the government.

“This is a warning from the students and opposition that you cannot run the country the way you have been running. This is not your personal fiefdom,” Gandhi said.

“We hold Amit Shah directly responsible for the violence inflicted on our students. He authorised the firing on our students, authorised the use of lethal weapons, and authorised the use of pellet guns against them. That's a fundamental issue. We do not accept our security forces shooting at the future of India. This is going to be a major issue in Parliament,” he further said.

The Delhi police have denied the use of pellet guns on protesters in Delhi, though Gandhi brought a person forward on Friday who alleged that he was hit by pellets during the students' march to Parliament on Monday.
Rahul Gandhi called Dharmendra Pradhan, who resigned as education minister earlier in the day due to massive protests, “a symbol of corruption, incompetence, and the destruction of the education system”.

“It's good that this symbol has been removed. But now, to reform the education system, the government will have to take strict measures. Students have two more demands, which we must not forget. Strict action must be taken against those who brutalised students. Narendra Modi must apologise to all the students of the country,” he said.

This comes after two major announcements were made during a joint press conference held by union ministers Jitendra Singh and JP Nadda, and Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) spokespersons AshutoshRanka and Saurav Das. CJP withdrew its agitation “in good faith”, and the government agreed to withdraw all cases against student protesters and accept all of CJP's demands.

It followed Pradhan's resignation, which was the CJP protest's key demand. After this, two key demands were pending - 1 crore each compensation for families of students who died by suicide after the NEET-UG paper leak, and the assurance of no legal action against protesters. �"HT