"Students Have Eyes Too": Rahul Gandhi On Union Minister's Protests Remark

Launching a volley against the Centre after Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said no students suffered serious injuries during the Cockroach Janta Party-led student protests in July, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi said he had met several injured protesters himself. He also reminded the government that attempts to "lie" won't work because the students have "eyes and memories too".

Taking to X on Tuesday, Gandhi posted a video of Rijiju's comments and alleged that lathis studded with nails were used against the protesters, who were demanding then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation. 

"Ministers of the Modi government are saying that 'the Delhi Police should be praised'. Half a kilometre from Parliament, pellet guns were fired at peaceful students, lathis studded with nails were used, one child's eye was lost, one girl's ear was severed. Should we praise this brutality?" the Congress MP asked, referring to the police action on the day the students marched to Parliament on July 20. 

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Gandhi said thousands of videos of the action have been seen by people across the country and he had met the injured students himself. 

"The fundamental mantra of this government is untruth and violence. First, beat the children with lathis, then claim that nothing happened at all... The truth is that the biggest danger to this country comes from these empty-headed people ('Dimaag se khaali log'), who neither see their own mistakes, nor admit them even when they do," he alleged, adding, "Don't lie to the children of this country. They have eyes and memories too."

Minister's Remarks

In an interview with news agency ANI, Rijiju, who holds the Minority Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs portfolios, was asked about a policeman opening fire with an AK-47 during protests in Bihar's Siwan. 

#WATCH | Delhi: On the Jantar Mantar protest, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju says, "...Not a single person was harmed; not a single person suffered a broken bone. Not even one protester is in the hospital with a serious injury. Consider the scale of this… pic.twitter.com/Y3nNSmVML3

— ANI (@ANI) August 18, 2026

"Look, that is why I am repeating this point again, so that it becomes completely clear in your mind and in the minds of the people: Not a single person died, not a single person suffered a broken bone. Not a single protester is admitted to the hospital with a serious injury. Such a massive protest - thousands turned up. Under the cover of students, so many criminals joined in. More than half the people - whether from the Aam Aadmi Party, people playing tambourines (dafli), the Bhim Army, or Samajwadi Party - so many people arrived and provoked the crowd to incite violence. Even then, not a single death occurred," he replied.

The Minister said "thousands of people" were killed during such protests when the Congress was in power, and that the Delhi Police was deserving of praise. 

"In this case, one ought to praise the Delhi Police and the administration. In handling such a massive protest, leave aside a death, they didn't even let serious injuries occur. Yet people keep talking about bullets being fired... The Delhi administration deserves praise because not a single lathi was used during the protest. They (the students) were stopped only when they forcefully marched towards Parliament," he said. 

"No one died, right? So shouldn't the police be praised? The police are also there for our safety. The police maintained everything so peacefully, and yet people are abusing the police. That is not right," he maintained.