Rahul, Priyanka meet injured students, mother of young woman on ventilator support at RML hospital

NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi met students admitted at the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital here after being injured in police action during the CJP-led protest march to Parliament over the NEET paper leak issue, and expressed solidarity with them.

They also met the mother of an injured young woman protester who is on ventilator support at the RML Hospital, sources said.

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi enquired about the health of the students and wished them a speedy recovery, they said.

In a post on X, the Congress said Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, along with General Secretary (Organisation K) C Venugopal, met the students injured during the "police brutality and lathi charge" in Monday's youth protest.

"Today, the future of students in the country is being trampled, and lathis are being rained down on those who raise their voices, for which Narendra Modi should apologise. The students' demand is absolutely clear -- the government should take responsibility for the paper leak and Dharmendra Pradhan should resign," the party said.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi must apologise to students for the "police brutality" against them and resign along with Home Minister Amit Shah.

Interacting with reporters in Parliament House complex, Gandhi said that he met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in the morning along with other MPs and conveyed that the opposition wants to discuss the students' issue.

"He (Birla) said he will have to ask the government. So understand, the Speaker is telling us that to debate in Parliament he has to take permission from the government," Gandhi said.

"The issue is of students and the future of youth, and the way people are being beaten up, this is completely 'unIndian'. Modi ji has not even apologised for what has happened yesterday," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

Clashes broke out between protesters and security personnel on Monday during the "Sansad Chalo" march called by the Cockroach Janta Party to press for Education Pradhan's resignation.

A police statement had claimed that more than 118 police personnel sustained injuries, while the number of injured protesters was 60.

The CJP accused the Delhi Police of using excessive force against protesters.

"Police have been absolutely brutal. They have fractured the skulls of many students who were protesting here. Even a 15-year-old girl was brutally beaten up by a male police officer," CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said.

Delhi Police, however, accused the protesters of attacking security personnel with stones and other objects, attempting to breach barricades and vandalising government property.