Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary over police action against protesting students, questioning whether their shattered dreams could be restored even after their broken bones are fixed.
Gandhi shared a video of his recent meeting with students and youngsters from Bihar who, he said, endured "horrific police brutality" for raising their voices against alleged irregularities in the examination system.
In his post in Hindi accompanying the video, Gandhi said, "Imagine, what sin had these children committed that they were shot with bullets? They had only asked the government for three things -- education, employment, and accountability."
"The bone in one student's leg was broken by an AK-47 bullet. His dream of joining the army and serving the nation vanished along with it. Bullets tore through the shoulders of two other students," the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
Asserting that the students are not criminals, he said they were the children from poor families who had stepped out to study, carrying their families' dreams. "Some wanted a good job, some wanted to change their family's circumstances," he said.
"The bullet wounds will heal, but where is the hospital that treats the fear that has now settled deep inside these children?" Gandhi questioned.
"Prime minister ji, chief minister ji, their broken bones would be fixed. Can you restore their shattered dreams?" he said.
Gandhi, on meeting students from Bihar on Thursday, had said the BJP should remember that any regime that suppresses the voice of youngsters eventually has to answer to the people, and claimed that day is not far off.
"Police lathis as well as gunfire from AK-47 and pistols left many students injured. A young man aspiring to serve the country in the Army had his leg battered by an AK-47 bullet -- and with it, his life-long dream was also shattered," Gandhi had said in a post in Hindi on X.
These young people were merely demanding fair opportunities, a transparent examination system and their rights, he added.
What was the need to use lathis and bullets in response to such demands, the Congress leader had asked.
"The government cannot absolve itself of responsibility for such extreme brutality by merely blaming a few low-ranking officials. This action is either the result of orders from above or a sign of the administration's utter failure," he had said.
"No matter what the Bihar government does, I stand with these young people. I am ready to provide them with every possible assistance," Gandhi had said.
Patna witnessed a pitched battle between job aspirants and police last month as demonstrators tried to march to the chief minister's residence demanding a single-tier teacher job exam and a transparent recruitment process.
The students' protest in Bihar, which began in the first week of August, has received support from opposition leaders, including RJD's working president Tejashwi Yadav.
(With inputs from PTI)
