Published Jul 29, 2026 | 7:19 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 29, 2026 | 7:19 PM
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said Amit Shah 'must go'.
Synopsis: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Union Home Minister Amit Shah, alleging he was responsible for the police action against student protesters during the 20 July Jantar Mantar protest, and demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe. He also alleged that students were being threatened and intimidated to prevent a recurrence of the protests, and vowed to hold police officers responsible for the violence accountable.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday, 29 July urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Union Home Minister Amit Shah, holding him responsible for the police brutality against student protesters during the 20 July protest at Jantar Mantar. He also demanded an independent, high-powered probe monitored by the Supreme Court.
Addressing a press conference hours after a highly disruptive session in Parliament during discussion on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, Gandhi said Amit Shah, as home minister, either “gave the order to shoot people with pellet guns, to beat people with lathis with nails, and to use electric batons on people,” or did not know what was happening.
In the first case, Gandhi said Shah was culpable for the violence; in the second, he was incompetent. “There’s no third possibility. He either ordered it, or he has no idea what’s going on in his ministry and he’s incompetent,” the Congress leader added. “In either case, he has to go. It is our advice to the Prime Minister: sack Shah and order a probe… At least have the decency to take responsibility for what you have done.”
LIVE: Press Conference | Indira Bhawan, New Delhi https://t.co/reKAidPIoX
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 29, 2026
Gandhi alleged that Shah was most likely responsible for the violence. “This gentleman over here [points to a picture of Amit Shah], as I understand it, is the Home Minister of India. And any action that is taken by police forces, or forces associated with the Home Ministry, requires his authorisation,” he said.
“When we were at Parliament House, I saw with my own eyes Amit Shah calling the police officers. [The contact name] ‘Home Minister ji’—I saw it with my own eyes. I saw Jitender Singh, the minister, getting call after call from Mr Amit Shah. So it is pretty clear that he [Shah] was aware of what was going on in the street.”
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Gandhi noted that the police action during the Sansad Chalo march had left at least one student with injuries that could cost him an eye.
“Our students, people who are open-minded and ask questions, were brutalised on the streets of Delhi. They were shot with pellet guns. I have seen the medical certificate — the AIIMS medical certificate — which shows that he was shot with pellet guns,” Gandhi said.
“Shock batons, not just normal lathis. Lathis with nails. Where did the police get this idea from? Lathis with nails. Beating women and minors. You can see this police officer slapping a minor. And then there are these plain-clothes officers, whom we also saw when we were at the PM’s House. Nobody knows who they are or where they come from. So, for me, the brutalisation of our students, the beating of our students, the assault on our students, is a fundamental issue, as it is for millions of people.”
Gandhi said every protester who suffered police violence during the protests should know that Shah was responsible for it.
“Every single child who has been beaten must know this: that this is the man. Take a good look at him [again points to the picture of Amit Shah]. This is the man who is responsible for what happened to you. Of course, he takes his orders from the Prime Minister, but this is the man who beat you, who trashed you, who humiliated you, who shot you with pellets,” he said.
He also referred to the deployment of facial recognition technology and the alleged assault of those believed to be associated with the protests by right-wing vigilante groups in recent days.
“It’s an issue for the students themselves, who are being threatened today. Facial recognition is being used against them. Bajrang Dal is being mobilised against them to frighten them, so that they do not do this type of thing again,” he added.
Gandhi argued that the forces deployed for crowd control during the 20 July Sansad Chalo march all reported to the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is headed by Amit Shah.
“There’s another line of confusion. Who reports to whom? Delhi Police reports to MHA [Ministry of Home Affairs]. MHA is run by Mr Amit Shah, the Home Minister. Part of the beatings was carried out by Delhi Police. And the other side is the RAF, which reports to the CRPF, which is a paramilitary force that also reports to the Home Minister,” he said.
“There was nobody else carrying out the beatings. And these forces that carried out the beatings, that shot our students with pellet guns, both report to Mr Shah. There was no Haryana Police operating in Delhi. No UP Police operating in Delhi. There was only Delhi Police operating, and the RAF.”
He said his attempts to seek clarity from the Ministry of Home Affairs on the deployment of the forces had been met with silence.
“On 25 July, I wrote a letter to Mr Shah. A very respectful letter, asking some questions. As Home Minister, did you approve the use of lethal force, including pellet guns, against students? If not, who did? Are the people in plain clothes, seen beating students with lathis, police personnel or volunteers? Who authorised their deployment?” Gandhi said.
“I haven’t even—forget an answer—I haven’t even received an acknowledgement that this letter has been received.”
Gandhi said the Opposition would pursue accountability for the police action regardless of the government’s response, calling it their “guarantee” to the students.
“We will ensure—regardless of whether the government ensures it or not—we will ensure that the students who were beaten, maybe not today, maybe sometime from now, but we will ensure that every single one of those students who was beaten gets justice,” he said.
“We will ensure that the people who shot our students with pellet guns will be punished.”
The Leader of the Opposition said they had archived evidence of the violence, including photographs and videos, to ensure that the officers responsible would be held accountable.
“We know the police officers who’ve done it. So you might think you’re very smart. But accountability is going to come. This is our guarantee. This is our Opposition’s guarantee to the students,” he added.
Gandhi also accused Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla of preventing him from speaking in the House because he had held Amit Shah responsible for the police action.
The Lok Sabha witnessed multiple disruptions after Gandhi accused Shah of having “authorised the shooting of our students”, triggering loud protests from treasury bench members.
“As you saw today, the Leader of the Opposition is not allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha,” Gandhi said, adding that he had repeatedly requested the Speaker to restore order while other ministers, including Kiren Rijiju and Rajnath Singh, were allowed to speak.
He said he had been told he would be allowed to continue his speech if he apologised for his remarks.
“I was also given an assurance that, if I apologised, then I would be allowed to continue speaking. See, the first thing is, I will never, ever apologise to the BJP, RSS, or any other person associated with them. This is something that has to be understood,” he said.
“And the second thing is that it is my right, as Leader of the Opposition, to raise issues that are important for this country.”
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
