Archive · 19 Aug 2026
Rijiju Counters NEET Protest Criticism With Congress-Era Firing Claims
Kiren Rijiju and Rahul Gandhi argued about how police treated students protesting alleged NEET exam paper leaks.
Rijiju said nobody died during those protests and that the government showed restraint.
Gandhi said peaceful students were beaten and that pellet guns were used near Parliament.
Rijiju responded by listing older incidents during Congress governments when protesters or civilians were killed during police action.
These incidents happened in places including Delhi, Mizoram, Telangana, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh.
The numbers of people killed were not always agreed upon.
For example, accounts of some incidents gave different death totals.
The argument is mainly about whether the current government or earlier Congress governments handled protests more violently.
Kiren Rijiju said no one died during student protests over alleged NEET paper leaks.
Rahul Gandhi accused the government of minimizing police violence against peaceful students near Parliament.
Rijiju cited historical incidents under Congress governments in which police action allegedly caused civilian deaths.
His examples included the 1976 Turkman Gate demolition, the Telangana movement, and several later agitations.
Casualty figures varied across incidents, with Rijiju citing differing estimates and historical accounts.
- Who
- Union Minister Kiren Rijiju and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
- What
- They exchanged accusations over police action during NEET paper-leak protests and historical protest-related deaths under Congress governments.
- When
- Rijiju made the remarks on Wednesday, August 19; the cited incidents occurred from the 1960s through 2011, with one example from 1998 and another from 2007.
- Where
- The immediate dispute concerned student protests near Parliament in New Delhi; Rijiju cited incidents across several Indian states.
- Why
- Rijiju was responding to Gandhi’s criticism of the government and Delhi Police over alleged violence against protesting students.
Rahul Gandhi’s criticism
Kiren Rijiju’s response
Police treatment of NEET protesters
Rahul Gandhi’s criticism
Gandhi said peaceful students near Parliament faced pellet guns and alleged that the government first used force against children and then denied what happened.
Kiren Rijiju’s response
Rijiju said no one died during the NEET paper-leak protests and argued that the government had prioritized citizens’ safety and shown restraint.
Responsibility for protest deaths
Rahul Gandhi’s criticism
Gandhi’s criticism focused on alleged violence by the current government and Delhi Police during the student demonstrations.
Kiren Rijiju’s response
Rijiju said many civilians had been killed in police firing during Congress governments and listed 11 historical incidents to support his comparison.
Historical casualty figures
Rahul Gandhi’s criticism
The criticism presented the current police response as evidence of a broader pattern of untruth and violence by the government.
Kiren Rijiju’s response
Rijiju cited historical accounts but acknowledged that figures differed in several cases, including Turkman Gate and the Multai agitation.
- Immediate issue
- Police handling of student protests over alleged NEET paper leaks.
- Rijiju’s claim
- No life was lost during the NEET-related student protests.
- Gandhi’s allegation
- Pellet guns were fired at peaceful students near Parliament and injured children were later described as unharmed.
- Historical example
- Rijiju said 369 people, mostly students, died in police firing during the Telangana movement in 1969.
- Turkman Gate
- Rijiju referred to the 1976 demolition and police firing in Delhi, saying accounts of the actual death toll remain disputed.
- Multai agitation
- Rijiju cited estimates ranging from 17 initial deaths to 24 eventual farmer deaths, with more than 100 injured, in 1998.
- Jaitapur protest
- Rijiju said one protester, Tabrez Sayekar, also reported as Tavrez Sejkar, was killed in Maharashtra police firing on April 18, 2011.