NEW DELHI, July 27: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday lashed out at the Modi Government over allegations that AK-47 rifles were used to target protesting students in Bihar and demanded that action be taken against those who attacked the students.
Gandhi also demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologise to the students. The Central Government is “dishonest” and reform is beyond its capability, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha charged.
“The entire system is downright murderous against students. Reports are coming in that AK-47s have been fired at protesting students in Bihar, and hundreds have been arrested and booked under FIRs,” Gandhi said in a post on X in Hindi.
“Modi ji, what happened to your promise that no FIRs would be filed against students and that they would be released? Instead, they are being subjected to deadly attacks and brutality,” he said.
“Pellet guns were used against students in Delhi, and AK-47s in Bihar. Whether it is Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, or Delhi — the pattern is the same everywhere,” he said.
“I have said it before: this Government is dishonest. Reform is beyond its capability. It will renege on its promises and use every tactic to suppress the students’ voices,” Gandhi said.
He called on Modi to apologise to the country’s students and take action against those who attacked and brutalised them instead of taking action against the students.
Left-wing student organisations held demonstrations across Bihar, some of which turned violent, on Saturday in support of a statewide bandh against NEET paper leak and police action on protesting students.
Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, alleged that police fired AK-47s at protesters during the protest in Siwan.
During the Cockroach Janta Party-led ‘Sansad Chalo’ march in Delhi on July 20 to protest against the NEET paper leak, police and security forces used batons and tear gas to disperse protesters, which largely included students.
Scores of protesters and police personnel were injured in the protest. (PTI)
