Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday doubled down on the allegations he made against Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the Lok Sabha earlier in the day, accusing him of ordering the police crackdown against student protesters, as he called for the minister's removal and a Supreme Court-monitored probe.
Addressing a press briefing at the party headquarters in New Delhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said Shah was responsible for the "brutality that was carried out" against students, referring to the crackdown by security forces during the July 20 Cockroach Janta Party-led protest march to Parliament.
Either Shah ordered that students be shot with pellet guns and beaten with lathis with nails or he was unaware, Gandhi said, adding: "If he ordered it, he is culpable and if he did not know then he is incompetent."
The Leader of Opposition alleged that he was not allowed to speak in Lok Sabha and everytime he tries to speak there, he is "silenced".
"As you saw today, the Leader of Opposition was not allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha. Multiple times, I asked the Speaker to bring order to the House so that I could speak. Multiple times, Rajnath Singh ji and others were allowed to speak, but I was not allowed to speak. The excuse was that I said something about Amit Shah. I said that Amit Shah was responsible for the brutality that was carried out," Gandhi said.
Gandhi also said he would not apologise for his remarks, despite being told he would be allowed to continue speaking if he did so.
"I have also given an assurance that if I apologise, I will be allowed to continue speaking. See, the first thing is, I will never ever apologise to the BJP, RSS, or any other person associated with them. This is something that has to be understood. The second thing is, it is my right as the Leader of the Opposition to raise issues that are important for this country," he said.
"To me, the most important issue today by far is the following: the issue where our students, people who are open-minded and ask questions, were brutalised on the streets of Delhi," he added.
Gandhi alleged that student protesters had been "brutalised" and claimed that those responsible for the police action ultimately reported to Shah.
"They (protesting students) were shot with pellet guns. One boy who was shot with a pellet gun is most likely to lose his eye and may not be able to see. I have seen the AIIMS medical certificate, which shows that he was shot with pellet guns. Shock batons were used, not just normal lathis, lathis with nails. Where did the police get this idea from?," he said.
"The people who did this report to the Home Minister. They work under the Home Minister. The Home Minister is responsible for what happened," the LoP added.
The "brutalisation of our students" assault on our students is a fundamental issue, Gandhi said.
Pointing to a picture of Shah on the screen at the press conference, he said to students, "This is the man who beat you, thrashed you, humiliated you and shot you with pellet guns."
"Sack Amit Shah and order SC-monitored probe, have decency to take moral responsibility of what was done with students," Gandhi said, addressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the matter.
"Will ensure every person who used pellet guns on students is held accountable and all students get justice, that's our guarantee," he added.
During the debate on the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, Gandhi accused Shah of authorising the firing on student protesters during the alleged police crackdown on the NEET paper leak demonstrations in Delhi.
"I am very happy today to see that the so-called Home Minister of this country does not have the courage to come and sit here... why is the Home Minister not here today? The home minister is not here today because he is scared. The home minister authorised the shooting of our students. He put pellets into the blood of our students. He ordered the students of India to be shot," Gandhi said during the debate, drawing objections from treasury bench members.
Later, Union MoS Jitendra Singh rejected Gandhi's allegations, saying no bullets had been fired at student protesters in the national capital.
Singh said the authority to order firing rests with the magistrate, not a minister, and accused Gandhi of lacking an understanding of parliamentary norms and the functioning of the government.
Addressing reporters after the Lok Sabha was adjourned, Gandhi again questioned Shah's absence from the House and said he should clarify whether he had issued any order to fire on student protesters.
"The supposedly brave Home Minister of India, why isn't he in the House? If he hasn't done anything and issued no order, then he should simply clarify that he didn't issue the order. The main point is that I have the right to speak in Parliament, and that right must be granted to me," he said.
Gandhi said there were only two possibilities regarding the alleged firing on student protesters — either Shah had ordered it or was unaware of it.
"In the first case, he is culpable; in the second, he is incompetent—it has to be one of the two; there is no third possibility. If the Home Minister didn't even know that shots were being fired, it means he is incompetent; otherwise, if he ordered it, he is culpable," the Leader of Opposition said.