New Delhi, July 28, 2026

Questions over the handling of student protests in Delhi echoed through Parliament as Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi raised concerns about the use of force during demonstrations over alleged examination irregularities. Speaking during the discussion on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, she sought answers on who authorised the reported use of pellet guns and other crowd-control measures, arguing that the country deserved a clear explanation.

"What was the need to fire tear gas at those students, to rain lathi blows upon them, or to use water cannons against them? What was the need to humiliate those young women, tear their clothes, and have them brutally beaten? What was the necessity of using pellet guns and AK-47s against the country's youth? Were they terrorists?" Priyanka Gandhi said in Hindi. She further asked, "Will the Home Minister answer? Who gave the order to fire pellet guns? I want to ask through you, Speaker sir, who gave the order? Did the PM gave the order or the Home Minister? Will they answer? The whole country is asking, not just the Congress party."

Her remarks referred to the July 20 protest in New Delhi, where riot police and the Rapid Action Force (RAF) used baton charges and tear gas after student demonstrators attempted to march towards Parliament from the Jantar Mantar protest site. The protesters had been demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in major examinations, and the movement later spread to several cities across the country. The protests were eventually called off after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as Education Minister over the weekend.

Concluding her address, Priyanka Gandhi said, "The parents of this country are asking, the students are asking, the teachers are asking, the entire country is asking this today, and it is your responsibility to answer this question. Why are you afraid of the youth of this country. Why are you afraid of the powerful voice of this country, and who gave you the right to suppress that voice?" She also added, "In recent days, thousands of children took to the streets. They expressed their pain by keeping non-violence and truth in their hearts, following the path shown by Gandhiji, singing and smiling while protesting peacefully. Under the most sacred principle of democracy, they upheld their right to raise their voice."