Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that persons who had taken part in the protests in July against the alleged mismanagement of competitive examinations were being harassed and goons were being sent to their homes.

Speaking at a press conference in the presence of protesters from New Delhi, Mumbai, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, Gandhi said that nobody needs to “accept” their apology as they had not done anything wrong.

The leader of the Opposition’s remarks were purportedly in reference to a video posted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, in which he said that he wanted to forgive the students who had allegedly made objectionable remarks about him.

“I understand the anger in our society,” Modi had said. “There is a cultural shock about our daughters using such language. This is the time to show them the right path. They are misguided.”

On Wednesday, Gandhi said that while the students who had participated in the protests were standing in front of the media, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the prime minister “do not have the courage to do so”.

“It is not easy for them to come here,” said the Congress leader. “They are facing harassment, violence and torture. And I am impressed that they have the courage to speak so eloquently. I am extremely proud of what they have done.”

Among the persons present at the press conference alongside Gandhi was a 32-year-old woman who had been injured in her ear after pellet gun was fired at her on July 20. Another woman present had purportedly been struck by a police officer in her private part.

Amit Shah responsible for violence: Gandhi

Gandhi further alleged that Shah was responsible for the violence against protesters who marched to Parliament on July 20.

“Either he did not know that this violence was being carried, in which case he is incompetent,” said Gandhi. “And if he ordered the violence against the students, then he is culpable.”

The police in the national capital and the central armed police forces report to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

The protests against alleged mismanagement of several competitive examinations had begun on June 6, when the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign staged a demonstration at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to demand the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, the Union education minister at the time.

On July 20, thousands joined the protest. This came two days after the police forcibly took activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a hunger strike for three weeks, to hospital.

The protesters’ march to Parliament was met with a crackdown by the police. Dozens were injured as the police used lathis, fired tear gas shells and pellet guns against the demonstrators. The police action turbocharged the agitation, which spread to other parts of the country. Pradhan resigned as the education minister on July 25.

Modi’s video message on Friday, the fifth in a week, came a day after a 15-year-old girl in Noida was booked for making purportedly objectionable remarks about him on social media during the youth protests at Jantar Mantar.

Singh later apologised for the remarks she had made about the prime minister.

Speaking about this on Wednesday, Gandhi said that “forcing a 15-year-old to apologise, and then accepting the apology, is complete nonsense”.

Reacting to FIRs being filed against several young protesters in recent days, Gandhi had said on Friday that Modi and Shah “cannot threaten” Gen Z into silence.

With the Monsoon Session ongoing, the Opposition parties have been demanding that Shah make a statement in Parliament about the use of force by security personnel against student protesters in Delhi on July 20.

Written by Sneha. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

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