Rahul Gandhi Detention: The Congress took its NEET-UG protest straight to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence on Tuesday, after a day of clashes around student demonstrations in Delhi. The move came soon after police detained Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Akhilesh Yadav and other Opposition leaders.
Reuters reported that the protest was over the violence linked to the earlier student march, while The Indian Express said Congress wanted to put itself back at the centre of the fight over exam irregularities.
Delhi: Police detained Congress MP and LoP Rahul Gandhi, who was protesting with party MPs at Lok Kalyan Marg. pic.twitter.com/ZeelIVtsn9
— IANS (@ians_india) July 21, 2026
Party leaders believed the issue was starting to look like it belonged mostly to the CJP-led agitation. Congress had already been speaking about the NEET row in public meetings, but it wanted a louder show of force after students trying to march to Parliament were stopped with lathis and tear gas on Monday.
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Congress also stayed partly away from the Jantar Mantar camp and only sent Seva Dal volunteers there with food and water. After Rahul Gandhi’s protest outside the PM’s house, AAP leader Sanjay Singh hit back with the line, “Apparently, to undermine CJP’s protest, Modi got Rahul Gandhi to stage a protest at his own residence.”
The protest was kept quiet until the last minute. Congress MPs were first told to come to Mallikarjun Kharge’s home for his birthday, and only after they arrived were they told the real plan. One MP told The Indian Express that the surprise was done so police would not get warning in advance.
Nearly 25 MPs reportedly did not know where they were headed until they reached the protest spot near Lok Kalyan Marg. Rahul Gandhi then handed out zip ties to fellow protesters so they could lock their wrists together if police tried to move them. He also called on “every patriotic Indian who believes our students deserve justice” to join in, and said the crackdown was “an attack on every Indian family”.
The Centre sent Minister of State Jitendra Singh and Home Secretary Govind Mohan to speak with Rahul Gandhi. Singh later said the government had agreed to discuss the NEET issue in Parliament, writing on X that “the government is ready to discuss in Parliament all issues related to NEET and the associated movement.”
He said the talks failed when Gandhi added a demand for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. Gandhi was said to have replied that it was “his prerogative”. The protest did not stop there. Congress still demanded that both the Prime Minister and the Education Minister step down.
After the police cleared the site, Rahul Gandhi posted, “Modi Ji, try every pressure, exert all your might – this fight for justice for students will now not stop or be halted.” He also said, “Democracy in India is happening right now,” while Priyanka Gandhi was seen in a police vehicle saying, “Narendra Modi is a coward. Modi, your dictatorship will not be tolerated.” Gandhi had earlier said, “The voice of India’s students will not be ignored.”
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