Oppn leaders forcibly removed from protest site near PM's residence

In a dramatic turn of events, opposition leaders, including Congress's Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Samajwadi Party's (SP) Akhilesh Yadav, were forcibly removed by police on Tuesday after they staged a dharna outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence  in New Delhi, demanding his resignation. The surprise sit-in in the high-security zone sent the government into a tizzy, prompting it to rush Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh, along with Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, to persuade the opposition leaders to vacate the sensitive site. Gandhi's discussion with the minister lasted a few minutes, after which Singh and the home secretary left as the talks remained inconclusive.
Earlier,Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several senior leaders marched to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence, demanding accountability for the alleged police action against students during Monday's CJP protest. The party also sought Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over the NEET paper leak and other examination irregularities.

गिरफ़्तार करो, जेल में डालो, फर्क नहीं पड़ता - मोदी सरकार की सत्ता की ताकत से ज़्यादा बड़ी हमारे सत्याग्रह की शक्ति है।

हमारे बच्चों के साथ हुए अत्याचार का हिसाब तो देना ही होगा। pic.twitter.com/nrNmrLBxp3

— Congress (@INCIndia) July 21, 2026

As the protest intensified, the Centre deputed Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh and Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan to hold talks with Rahul Gandhi.The government urged the Congress to withdraw its dharna, arguing that the protest site near the Prime Minister's residence was unsuitable for demonstrations and was disrupting public movement. Rahul Gandhi maintained it was his prerogative to protest wherever he chose, which Jitendra later called “not in keeping with democratic principles”. Among those detained later was Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and several others.
AAP leader and MP Sanjay Singh alleged that PM Modi had arranged for Gandhi to sit in protest specifically “to weaken the CJP's dharna”. Delhi's Leader of Opposition Atishi contrasted a month of Sonam Wangchuk's fast, which she said had bought no government engagement at all, with Rahul Gandhi's protest, which drew a ministerial visit within the hour.
BJP's Amit Malviya, however, claimed that no party besides the BJP stood for students. He said the cycle of protests was never been about students. “So, AAP admits that CJP is not an apolitical student movement. It has sponsored it,” he said, apparently referring also to Dipke's past association with Arvind Kejriwal's party.