Congress Demands Parliament Debate Over Police ‘Brutal’ Crackdown on Student Protesters

On Monday, the Congress party pressed the Parliament for an urgent discussion about what it called a “brutal and disproportionate” police response to student demonstrators in Delhi. The move came after the so‑called ‘Chalo Sansad’ march on July 20, when hundreds of youngsters gathered at Jantar Mantar to protest alleged irregularities in the NEET and CBSE exams.

In the Lok Sabha, Congress General Secretary and MP K.C. Venugopal filed an Adjournment Motion, insisting that the House examine the “unprovoked, brutal use of force by the Delhi Police” against peaceful protesters. A second notice, raised by MP Hibi Eden, zeroed in on the role of the Rapid Action Force, accusing it of “excessive force” during the march.

Up north in the Rajya Sabha, senior leader Renuka Chowdhury lodged a Rule‑267 notice to suspend business. Her filing listed specific allegations – lathi‑charges, tear‑gas shells, pellet‑gun fire, and even unidentified plain‑clothes men beating students. Chowdhury demanded a detailed answer from Union Home Minister Amit Shah on who authorised the operation, and also asked the Prime Minister to spell out steps to prevent a repeat.

Just a day earlier, Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi had taken to X (formerly Twitter) with a pointed letter to Shah, asking whether the Home Minister had approved the use of “lethal force”, including pellet guns, against the demonstrators. He pressed further, questioning who was behind the plain‑clothes beaters and highlighting reports that women students and a journalist were seriously injured.

The ‘Chalo Sansad’ rally itself started at Jantar Mantar and moved toward Parliament, where security forces reportedly resorted to lathi‑charges and tear‑gas to disperse the crowd. Eyewitnesses said the scene turned chaotic, with several students sustaining injuries.

Congress’s adjournment and suspension notices now sit on the parliamentary agenda, signalling that the opposition wants a full‑blown debate on the conduct of Delhi’s law‑enforcement agencies and, ultimately, accountability for what they describe as an unlawful crackdown on young citizens exercising their right to protest.