‘There was blood coming from my mouth’: How Rahul Gandhi responded to AAP criticism over sit-in outside PM residence
The Arvind Kejriwal-led party had accused Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party of being hand-in-glove with the Bharatiya Janata Party and weakening the student-led agitation as such.
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday responded to Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) criticism of his protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party had accused Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party of being hand-in-glove with the Bharatiya Janata Party and weakening the student-led agitation as such.
“We are completely supporting the students’ protest. There was blood coming from my mouth,” Rahul Gandhi said in response to a question on AAP criticism of his protest outside PM Modi’s residence on Tuesday.
Earlier, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha stepped up his attack on the Union government, extending support to students protesting under the banner of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). The Rae Bareli MP reiterated demands, which include the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, action against policemen who 'assaulted' protesters during the CJP march in Delhi on Monday and an apology by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to students.
The CJP, which has been staging a protest at Jantar Mantar since 20 June and organized Monday’s march, has been demanding Pradhan’s resignation. Rahul said the Congress party was supporting the student-led protest, but he did not name CJP or Sonam Wangchuk, who has been on hunger strike for 25 days.
AAP and Congress are rivals in Punjab where elections are scheduled next year. AAP is in power in Punjab since it defeated Congress in elections five years ago.
On Tuesday, AAP took a dig at the Congress party's protest near Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence. Senior AAP leaders called it a ‘jugalbandi’ with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, and accused Rahul Gandhi of ‘weakening’ the agitation.
Former Delhi chief minister Atishi questioned how Rahul Gandhi was ‘allowed’ to stage a protest outside the PM's residence, while the Modi government had ‘refused’ to talk to CJP supporters despite their month-long protest.
"This is amazing! CJP and Sonam Wangchuk: One month protest at Jantar Mantar. Modi govt refuses to talk to them," she said.
Rahul Gandhi led a protest on Lok Kalyan Marg, the road that houses the residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, over the police crackdown on the CJP protest on Monday. Rahul Gandhi refused to leave the protest despite the government sending Union Minister Jitendra Singh to convince him.
Rahul, Priyanka Vadra and other Congress leaders were later detained by police from the protest site.
Earlier, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh accused Rahul of "undermining" the agitation. "Apparently, to undermine CJP's protest, Modi got Rahul Gandhi to stage a protest at his own residence," Singh said in Hindi on X.
We are completely supporting the students’ protest. There was blood coming from my mouth.
AAP has been vocally backing the CJP protest. Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, Atishi, Sanjay Singh and Saurabh Bharadwaj have been to Jantar Mantar many a time. Congress, which had stayed away earlier, also backed the protest later, sending senior leaders to Jantar Mantar, the protest site.
Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party have condemned the alleged police brutality during the CJP march and demanded accountability.
About the Author
Gulam Jeelani
Gulam Jeelani is Political Desk Editor at LiveMint with over 16 years of experience covering national and international politics. Based in New Delhi, Jeelani delivers impactful political narratives through breaking stories, in-depth interviews, and analytical pieces at LiveMint since February 2024. The expertise in video production fuels his current responsibilities, which include curating content and conducting video interviews for an expanding digital audience.
Jeelani also travels during elections and key political events and has covered assembly elections in key states apart from national elections. He has previously worked with The Pioneer, Network18, India Today, News9Plus and Hindustan Times.
Jeelani’s tenure at LiveMint and previous experience at print and digital newsrooms have honed his skills in creating compelling text and video stories, explainers, and analysis that resonate with a diverse viewership.
Before moving to New Delhi in 2015, Jeelani was based in Uttar Pradesh, where he worked for five years as a reporter. In 2018, Jeelani was one of the two Indian journalists selected for the Alfred Friendly Fellowship in the US. There, he attended training workshops on reporting and data journalism, and he was attached to the Minneapolis Star Tribune in Minnesota, where he worked as a reporter.
Jeelani is a Bachelor's in Chemistry and holds a Masters Degree in journalism and mass communication from Aligarh Muslim University. Outside work, he enjoys poetry, cricket and movies.
Source: Livemint — Politics
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