Did you authorise the use of lethal weapons against students, Rahul Gandhi asks Home Minister Amit Shah

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Opposition parties are keen to corner the Modi government over ‘chadhawa chori’ and the impact of blending 20% ethanol in fuel

Updated - July 26, 2026 05:24 pm IST - New Delhi

Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi said the most shocking thing has been the use of lethal pellet guns by the police. Photo: X@INCIndia via ANI.

Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking accountability for the “barbaric assault on students who were peacefully protesting in Delhi” on July 20, 2026. Mr. Gandhi asked Mr. Shah whether the latter had authorised the use of “lethal force”.

Peaceful protest is crucial to any democracy and it is the government’s responsibility to protect protestors and resolve their grievances through dialogue, the Congress leader said.

In his letter on Saturday (July 25, 2006), Mr. Gandhi said students were demanding a fair and accountable education system, but instead of being heard, security forces had assaulted them with indiscriminate force, including lethal weapons and tear gas.

“Hundreds have suffered serious injuries. Women students have been assaulted by policemen, including by deliberately targeting their private parts. Most shocking has been the use of lethal pellet guns,” Mr. Gandhi said in his letter, a copy of which he posted on his X handle on Sunday (July 26, 2026).

Mr. Gandhi mentioned meeting 19-year old student Sahil Lochab, who could lose his eyesight because of pellet gun wounds, in a case that was first reported by The Hindu.

“As Home Minister, did you approve the use of lethal force, including pellet guns, against students? If not, who did? Are the people in plain clothes seen beating students with lathis police personnel or volunteers? Who authorised their deployment?” Mr. Gandhi said in his letter.

On Saturday (July 26, 2026), the Opposition leader directly blamed the Home Minister for the use of “lethal weapons and pellet guns” in police action.

“We will not accept our own forces shooting the future of India. So, that is going to be a major issue in Parliament,” Mr. Gandhi said.

Asked if the Opposition would disrupt proceedings in Parliament, Mr. Gandhi said it would be decided in the meeting of Opposition leaders on Monday (July 27, 2026) morning.

But having tasted success with former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, the Opposition will surely seek to expand the frontier and corner the government on issues, including chadhawachori (temple donation theft), and the use of ethanol blended fuel.

Opposition parties, especially the Samajwadi Party (SP), are keen to corner the Narendra Modi government over the alleged embezzlement of donations to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. By highlighting the issue of donation theft, the party is keen to make an impression upon devotees of the temple.

The Congress has already held over 50 press conferences on chadhawa chori, and has been pressing for the Prime Minister’s statement on the Ram Temple donation theft issue.

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Opposition parties are also keen to flag the impact of using ethanol in fuel, which concerns the middle classes.

With the Cockroach Janta Party headlining the Gen Z protests and the government to keen on sidelining the Opposition, the latter would like to adopt an aggressive stance over the anti-paper leak Bill, which the government will introduce in Parliament in the second week of the monsoon session.

Published - July 26, 2026 03:25 pm IST

Rahul Gandhi / police / crime / crime, law and justice / Bharatiya Janata Party / Lok Sabha / parliament

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