Rahul Gandhi and Kiren Rijiju trade claims over July 20 Jantar Mantar protest action

Rahul Gandhi said he had met students injured during the July 20 protest at Jantar Mantar, disputing Union minister Kiren Rijiju’s assertion that no protester suffered serious harm.

In a post on X, the Leader of the Opposition alleged that pellet guns and lathis studded with nails were used when students marched towards Parliament, and claimed that one student lost an eye and another had an ear severed. He said videos of the police action had been widely seen, adding: “Don’t lie to the children of this country. They have eyes and memories too.”

Rijiju, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, said no one died, no protester suffered a broken bone, and nobody was admitted to hospital with a serious injury. He said the Delhi Police and administration should be praised for controlling a protest attended by thousands, alleging that people from several political groups had joined and provoked violence.

Rijiju also said police had not used lathis and had stopped protesters only after they forcefully moved towards Parliament. Jantar Mantar is Delhi’s designated protest stretch, though the site and the rules around demonstrations there have remained under judicial scrutiny.

The competing accounts leave the extent of injuries and the precise nature of police action contested.