NEW DELHI: Leader of oppostion in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday snapped at a reporter asking, “Bhaiya, aap BJP ke ho kya?”His response came when a reporter questioned about a press conference held by the families of Delhi Police personnel injured during the July 20 clashes linked to the student protests in the national capital.The reporter had sought Rahul’s reaction to the press conference, in which the family members of injured police personnel recounted their ordeal and appealed for justice.Earlier in the day, the family members of an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), a Sub-Inspector and other Delhi Police personnel injured during the clashes addressed the media, describing the incident and seeking action against those responsible.The wife of an injured ACP described the emotional impact the incident had on her family. “The moment he returned home late on the night of July 20, injured as he was, was incredibly painful and traumatic for both my two-year-old daughter and me. I am accompanied here by other family members of Delhi Police personnel, and we wish to share our ordeal with you,” she said.The daughter of an injured Delhi Police Sub-Inspector alleged that her father was assaulted by a mob during the protest and later admitted to RML Hospital, according to news agency ANI.She said her father, a former Marine Commando in the Indian Navy, was “pulled by a rowdy mob and was almost lynched near the stage at Jantar Mantar” and remained unconscious for nearly four hours.Another family member claimed the violence was not carried out by genuine student protesters. “This was not a student protest; rather, there were mischievous elements who tried to sabotage and discredit the students’ protest and shatter the dignity of Parliament,” she said, adding that those responsible should be punished while genuine students should not be targeted.The development came a day after Rahul Gandhi demanded an independent Supreme Court-monitored high-powered committee to investigate the alleged police action against students during the July 20 protest at Jantar Mantar.Earlier in the day, Rahul also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah over the issue. In a post on X, he alleged that the Centre was intimidating student protesters.“PM Modi and Amit Shah – you cannot threaten Gen Z into silence. First you broke their bones. Now you are filing FIRs and taking down their accounts,” Rahul wrote on X. “You are India’s past. Be careful about how you treat India’s future,” he added.The political confrontation over the protests intensified further, with BJP MP Anurag Singh Thakur moving a privilege notice against Rahul Gandhi over remarks made during the Lok Sabha debate on July 29.The Congress also announced that it would move a privilege motion against Union minister Jitendra Singh, alleging that he had misled the House by stating that no firing had taken place during the protest.Meanwhile, INDIA bloc MPs staged a protest at Makar Dwar in Parliament, demanding Amit Shah’s resignation and questioning his absence from the House.
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Holding donation boxes as part of a symbolic protest over the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the MPs raised slogans including “Amit Shah istifa do”, “Amit Shah sadan mein aao” and “chadhawa chor, gaddi chorh.”Independent MP Pappu Yadav, dressed in saffron robes, enacted a skit in which Opposition MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, placed money in donation boxes while he symbolically slipped the cash into his pockets to highlight the allegation. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party leaders and other INDIA bloc MPs also participated in the protest.
