Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi has expressed strong anger over the violent actions and heavy use of force by police against student protesters in the national capital, Delhi. Condemning the attacks on students who were peacefully demonstrating on July 20, he wrote a sharply worded letter, in his capacity as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, directly addressed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. In the letter, he made clear that the Union Home Ministry must bear full responsibility for this assault on young people fighting for accountability in the country’s education system.
In the letter, Rahul Gandhi detailed the events surrounding the “Sansad Chalo” protest held near Jantar Mantar in Delhi on July 20. He alleged that as students peacefully protested, demanding transparency in the education system, central security forces and Delhi Police resorted to excessive force to disperse them. He expressed anguish that this included indiscriminate baton charges, the use of tear gas, and ultimately even the deployment of lethal weapons.
The most shocking aspect of all, Rahul Gandhi strongly objected in the letter, was the use of pellet guns against the protesters. He stated that deploying pellet guns — weapons typically seen only in emergency situations in sensitive regions such as Kashmir — against students on the streets of Delhi runs contrary to democratic principles. He noted, citing evidence, that this firing left numerous young people injured, including even a journalist who was on duty at the time.
He particularly revealed that he had personally met Sahil Lochab, a 19-year-old student severely injured in these attacks. He stated that this young man, a student at Delhi University, had been preparing for competitive examinations with the goal of becoming a police officer in the future. He expressed anguish that metal pellets from the pellet gun struck him directly in the eye and body, leaving him in severe pain, with doctors reportedly warning that he risks completely losing vision in his right eye.
Rahul Gandhi also criticized the conduct of male police personnel in the use of force in his letter. He alleged that male police officers behaved inhumanely toward hundreds of female students participating in the protests, and that they deliberately resorted to physical assaults against them. He stated that the manner in which police treated women students, who were peacefully fighting for their rights within the bounds of democracy, had shocked the entire nation.
Since law and order matters in Delhi, along with the oversight of central security forces, fall directly under the Union Home Ministry, the letter demanded that Home Minister Amit Shah take full accountability for this atrocity. In this context, Rahul Gandhi posed two direct questions to the Home Minister.
The first question: “Did you, as Home Minister, authorize the use of lethal weapons such as pellet guns and tear gas against students who were protesting peacefully? If you did not authorize this, who is the senior official who ordered such an indiscriminate attack on students in the national capital?”
The second question: “Who were the individuals who arrived not in police uniform but in plain civilian clothing (mufti) and brutally beat students with sticks during the protests? Were they actual police personnel, or private volunteers belonging to some organization? Who authorized them to enter the midst of so many students and carry out attacks?” — he demanded answers from the Central Government.
Rahul Gandhi made clear that, in a democratic system, every citizen has the right to peacefully protest, and that it is the government’s fundamental responsibility to ensure protesters’ safety and resolve their grievances through dialogue. He criticized the Central Government for having, in his view, completely trampled on democratic norms through disproportionate and excessive use of force against protesters.
Coming as Parliament’s session is set to begin, this letter written by Rahul Gandhi has taken on significant political weight. While Delhi Police have issued statements claiming their forces did not use pellet guns, opposition parties point out that this stands in stark contrast to the accounts of students currently undergoing treatment in hospitals for serious injuries. Rahul Gandhi warned that this issue would be raised to hold the Central Government accountable in Parliament as well, and that attempts to suppress the voice of students — who represent the nation’s future — would not be tolerated.