Asks who ordered use of AK-47, pellet guns against youth
· “Were they terrorists?” Questions PM and HM
·The sundya Mail
NEW DELHI, : Congress general secretary and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra today tore into the government over the police brutality against the peacefully protesting students in Delhi. She asked who ordered the use of tear gas shells, pellet guns and AK-47 on the students.
Speaking during the discussion on the Public Examinations Amendment Bill 2026 in the Lok Sabha today, Ms Vadra regretted that the country’s youth had lost the faith in the system and they believed dishonesty matters more than hard work and money mattered more than merit.
The Wayanad MP said that the entire country wanted to know who ordered the use of force against protesting students, noting that lathis, tear gas, water cannons, pellet guns and even AK-47s were used against young protesters.
She said, the people of the country, the students, the parents, the teachers want answers from the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister. “It is not just the Congress, but the entire country that is seeking answers and accountability”, she asserted amidst repeated disruptions by the treasury benches.
Recalling her visit to Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Ms Vadra said she met the family of a student who was battling for her life in the ICU. She said the student’s mother, shaken by grief and anger, had told her that she would fight alone for justice without seeking anyone’s help.
Questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Congress leader asked why such force was used against “unarmed students”, particularly young women. She alleged that female students were humiliated, assaulted and their clothes were torn during the crackdown.
“Are they terrorists? Who will answer? Today, not just the Congress but the entire country wants to know who gave the orders for such brutality,” she said.
Ms Vadra said Parliament was not the personal property of the MPs but belonged to the people, and the MPs were accountable to citizens and duty-bound to protect democracy and uphold the Constitution. She said that students across the country had begun believing that dishonesty carried more value than hard work and that money mattered more than merit. “When that happens, it is not just one student who loses; hope itself is defeated,” she said.
The senior Congress leader stated that the education system had been hollowed out through the appointment of RSS functionaries and pointed out that 152 examination papers had been leaked over the past decade without a single person being punished.
She also criticised the Centre’s spending on education, saying the annual education budget stood at ₹1.4 lakh crore while families of around 22 lakh NEET aspirants collectively spent ₹1.32 lakh crore on preparations for the examination. In contrast, she said, this government had waived off ₹16 lakh crore of loans of friendly industrialists.
Referring to the recent resignation of the Union Education Minister, Priyanka Gandhi said it was “shameful” that ruling party MPs welcomed him with slogans as though he were a “superstar”, adding that ironically, a family in Maharashtra was mourning the suicide of its child at the same time.
She said the government’s actions had sent the wrong message to millions of students and accused the Prime Minister of relying on “PR and a pliant media” instead of addressing the concerns of the country’s youth.
Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, she advised him that changing the angle of the camera or the phone will not change anything, rather he needs to change the angle of his heart.
Ms Vadra also criticised the appointment of new Education Minister Prahlad Joshi who, she said, had supported the release of the rapists of a pregnant woman, Bilkis Bano.
Criticising the government for using the face recognition techniques to target and harass the protesting students, she asked, why this technique and technology was not used to find out the real culprits of the paper leaks, none of whom has been punished so far. She also took a dig at the constitution of a committee on education reforms, which she said, included an expert on cow urine, asking what do such people know about education.
Ms Vadra told the government that it can forcibly remove the students from the streets, but it cannot escape their questions. She said, the sticks which were rained at the students, hit the government’s credibility more than the students. She advised the government to come out of its hubris and listen to the youth of the country.
Ms Vadra said, while this government has presided over various kinds of thefts like vote theft in elections, donation theft in Ram Mandir, land theft of farmers and thefts by its industrial friends, but the worst theft has been that of stealing the dreams of the youth of this country.
But, she assured, that the Congress will not let the dreams of the youth of this country get shattered or the dignity and the credibility of the country to be compromised. Congress people will lay down their lives, but won’t let India lose, she asserted, amidst thumping desks from the Opposition benches.
