Rahul Gandhi detained, Priyanka and Akhilesh Yadav removed from protest site

New Delhi, July 21 (IANS) The dramatic protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence at 7 LKM on Tuesday ended up in the detention of Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and the arrest of many Congress MPs, including Priyanka Gandhi and others, including SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, by the Delhi Police. 

The pictures and video footage from the protest site showed security personnel whisking away the Congress leaders, who sat on a sit-in dharna and shouted slogans outside the Prime Minister’s residence, demanding government accountability over NEET paper leaks.

When cops tried to remove Rahul Gandhi from the protest site, he dug in his heels. However, after repeated persuasion, the cops managed to shift him out of the high-security zone.

Earlier, the Congress MP had called for a ‘long-drawn’ stir outside the PM’s residence on his social media handle.

He said that an attack on students was an attack on every Indian family and warned that this time, the government won’t be able to get away without giving answers.

“I ask every patriotic Indian who believes our students deserve justice - join us in dharna in front of the Prime Minister’s residence,” he said in a post.

Many protesting Congress MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, were taken away in police vans, though an official statement from Delhi Police about their detention is awaited.

This came after the talks between protesting Congress MPs and the government remained inconclusive, as claimed by the Congress.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, the government’s ‘representative’ who sought to convince the protesting MPs, however, differed, stating that the LoP first agreed with the government’s assurance but then backtracked on its nod.

The dramatic face-off between the Congress and the Centre began on Tuesday afternoon, when Gandhi siblings gathered outside the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's house at 10, Rajaji Marg and then started a march to the PM's residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg.

Sensing an alarming situation in the high-security VVIP zone, the Union Minister, along with the Home Secretary, sought to placate the protesting lawmakers, but this failed to yield positive results.

Congress leaders said that the talks between Rahul Gandhi and Dr Jitendra Singh remained inconclusive, though the latter alleged that the Congress MP went back on his word after agreeing to the Centre’s assurances on debate on issues including NEET paper leaks.

--IANS

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