New Delhi | Several leaders of the Congress and INDIA bloc parties on Thursday paid homage to all those students who took their lives due to paper leaks, and said they stood strongly behind the agitating students and their demands.
The opposition leaders first assembled at the residence of Rahul Gandhi on 5, Sunehri Bagh Road, and reiterated their full support for the demands of the protesting students.
From there, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, led them to the Gandhi Smriti on a bus.
On reaching there, Gandhi and the opposition MPs paid homage to the departed students with folded hands, and later sang the national anthem.
Gandhi carried a small copy of the Constitution with him while opposition MPs Mahua Majhi and Mahua Moitra were seen holding the national flag.
Some of the MPs also switched on torches on their mobile phones at the Gandhi Smriti.
Police had put up barricades on the 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 from Rahul's residence.
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 the others to move towards Tees January Marg.
In a post on X, Gandhi 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, Gandhi ji'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 from the bus headed towards Gandhi Smriti.
In an X post earlier, Gandhi said, “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.
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 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.
New Delhi | The Delhi Police on Thursday said there is no plan of a crackdown on the ongoing protest at Jantar Mantar, dismissing claims made by former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal that security personnel could take such steps against the protesters.
"There is no plan of Delhi Police to crack down on the ongoing protest tonight as is being conveyed. You (Kejriwal) are advised to refrain from spreading or circulating any misleading/unverified information," police said in a post on X in response to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader's claim.
Earlier in the day, Kejriwal in a post on X said, "Order to close all shops in CP by 6:30 PM this evening and intense security. Piles of ambulances. Will the central government once again attack its students at Jantar Mantar today?"
The New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA), citing the prevailing situation in and around the area, advised all offices, shops and restaurants at Connaught Place to close their establishments by 6:30 pm on Thursday.
In an advisory issued on Thursday, the traders' body said the decision was taken following telephonic advice from the chairperson and the vice-chairperson of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), who said all commercial establishments at Connaught Place should be shut by 6:30 pm.
