NEW DELHI: Chaos erupted in the heart of New Delhi after several Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi, marched to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence at Lok Kalyan Marg and staged a protest against the alleged brutality committed against students during the Cockroach Janata Party’s march to Parliament.During the protest, Congress leaders tied plastic bands around their hands and raised slogans, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak.However, the protest came as much of a surprise to many Congress leaders as it did to the government.How Congress chalked out the protest planAccording to news agency PTI, the Congress leadership did not tell its leaders about the protest to maintain secrecy, as otherwise the area could have been blockaded.MPs were told that they needed to reach party president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence — 10 Rajaji Marg — to wish him on his birthday, PTI reported, citing party sources.Therefore, many MPs were oblivious to what was coming and reached Kharge’s residence. They were then asked to follow Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the top leaders suddenly moved towards the gate of 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, which is about 500 metres from Kharge’s house.Other party leaders also had no clue about the development, and they reached the spot as soon as word spread.Only the top leaders were aware of the move, and they reached Kharge’s residence after both Houses of Parliament were adjourned. Most MPs, however, had no clue about the plan.The surprise sit-in by the Congress top brass in the high-security zone sent the government into a tizzy, prompting it to rush minister of state in the PMO Jitendra Singh, along with Union home secretary Govind Mohan, to persuade the leaders of the opposition to vacate the sensitive site.After meeting Rahul, Jitendra Singh accused him of shifting his demands during the talks.Speaking to news agency ANI, Singh said he and Union home secretary Govind Mohan were deputed by the government to meet senior Congress leaders after they began a sit-in protest at a location that, according to him, was not designated for demonstrations and was causing inconvenience to the public.“It was learned that Congress Party national president Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and others had suddenly started a protest. It was also reported that the place was not very conducive to a sit-in protest. It was causing significant inconvenience to the public,” he said.The minister said the government sent the two officials to persuade the Congress leaders to shift the discussion to Parliament instead of continuing the protest.Later, Rahul , Priyanka , along with Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, were forcibly removed by the police and taken to police stations at Mandir Marg and Chhatrasal Stadium.
