PTI
New Delhi
Several leaders of the Congress and INDIA bloc parties on Thursday said they stood strongly behind the agitating students and their demands, as they reached the Gandhi Smriti to pay homage to all those students who took their lives due to paper leaks.
Several leaders and MPs of the INDIA bloc assembled at Rahul Gandhi’s residence on 5, Sunehri Bagh Road, reiterating their full support for the demands of the protesting students.
Police put up barricades on Sunehri Bagh Road to stop the large number of Congress and Youth Congress workers from moving towards Tees January Marg, where the Congress and other leaders were headed.
However, police later removed the barricades and allowed Gandhi and other MPs to move forward.
As they reached the end of the Sunehri Bagh Road and near Amit Shah’s residence, police stopped them and said they were not allowed to assemble there as BNS Section 163 was in force that prohibited the assembly of five or more persons in the area.
They, however, later allowed Gandhi and others to move towards Tees January Marg.
“Right now, MPs and leaders of the INDIA bloc are peacefully heading to Gandhi Smriti on Tees January Marg. We go to remember the students we lost – the children driven to take their own lives after the NEET paper leak.
“And we go to stand with the students who lie injured today – beaten for peacefully demanding justice and accountability. India’s students are not alone. The entire Opposition stands with them and their demands,” Gandhi said in a post on X.
In another post, the Congress leader said that no one can stop them from standing with the students of India.
“In solidarity with the students, we wanted to take the opposition MPs to India Gate. But they refused. Then, we wanted to take them to Tees January Marg, Gandhiji’s assassination spot.
“Now, they have put this bus in front of us so that we can’t get there. They put up this bus and barricades to stop us, preventing our movement. They are doing this drama.
“Obviously, they are scared. All of us MPs felt that if the students are on the streets, we should also be on the streets,” Gandhi said in a video, while standing in the bus headed towards Gandhi Smriti.
The opposition MPs earlier deliberated on their strategy to strongly raise the issue of alleged police brutality from the streets to Parliament.
A source said that Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, is learnt to have addressed the opposition MPs on how to up the ante on the government on the students’ issues.
The leaders present at Gandhi’s residence included Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, general secretaries Jairam Ramesh and K C Venugopal, senior leaders P Chidambaram, Pramod Tiwari, K Suresh, Kumari Selja and Priniti Shinde.
RJD’s Sanjay Yadav, Sudhakar Singh and Misa Bharti, CPI-M’s John Brittas, RSP’s N K Premachandran, TMC’s Mahua Moitra and Saugata Roy, among others, were also present.
