Indian police arrest opposition leader Rahul Gandhi during protest

Indian police arrested opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and other political figures on Tuesday during a protest in New Delhi, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

The arrests occurred as the politicians demonstrated outside the residence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Hours before his detention, Gandhi voiced his strong criticism on social media platform X: "We marched to Prime Minister Modi's residence to demand answers about the brutality against young students yesterday. The government does not want to take responsibility or debate the issue in Parliament. The prime minister and the home minister must resign for destroying the future of India's youth."

The protest was a response to the forceful suppression of a youth demonstration on Monday. Thousands of supporters from the 'Cockroach Janta Party' (CJP), also known as the 'Cockroaches,' attempted to march to Parliament to call for Pradhan's resignation. The CJP holds the Education Minister politically responsible for a series of leaks and irregularities in official examinations, particularly the national medical entrance test, NEET-UG. This issue is highly sensitive in India, where millions of young people compete annually for limited educational and public service positions.

Despite recent assurances from Modi that those responsible for exam irregularities will be punished, thousands of CJP supporters continued their concentration at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday. In addition to Pradhan's resignation, protesters are demanding the release of activist Sonam Wangchuk. Wangchuk, a prominent figure in the movement, was reportedly detained last Saturday and forcibly hospitalized after a 21-day hunger strike against Pradhan.

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We marched to Prime Minister Modi's residence to demand answers about the brutality against young students yesterday. The government does not want to take responsibility or debate the issue in Parliament. The prime minister and the home minister must resign for destroying the future of India's youth.