3 min readJul 31, 2026 06:13 PM IST
The BJP went into ’emergency mode’ after Rahul Gandhi targeted Home Minister Amit Shah in Parliament this week, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi told The Indian Express Friday in an exclusive interview.
Gogoi claimed the ruling party had been left unsettled by opposition parties’ all-out attack over alleged brutality by Delhi Police during student-protesters march to Parliament on July 20. A large crowd of students and activists set out on the march to press for the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as Education Minister, whom they held responsible for leaked question papers for competitive exams, including the NEET-UG test on May 3.
“They (the BJP) became extremely nervous and anxious. They felt that if the discussion was allowed to continue, it could be come politically dangerous… and therefore we saw the ruckus,” the Congress leader said.
Lok Sabha proceedings were disrupted Wednesday after a fierce showdown between the government and the opposition. Gogoi said Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition, had been repeatedly interrupted while delivering a high-voltage attack on the government and Amit Shah, who the Congress has held responsible for the police action against the students. “Unfortunately the LoP could not even complete his speech,” Gogoi said.
He argued the degree of force used – which the opposition has said included the use of pellet guns fired at close quarters and lathis with nails embedded in them – could only happen with Shah’s consent and knowledge.
“The opposition’s role is to put the public’s demands inside parliament… young people wanted accountability from the Education Minister… from the Home Minister… and this was clearly stated by Rahul Gandhi.”
After the protests were called off – this was after the Cockroach Janta Party and the government came to an agreement – police cases were filed against protesters, with authorities arguing they had taken part in violence against security personnel. Gogoi, however, questioned the lack of action against police for alleged brutality.
Story continues below this ad
“What about action against those police officers… did we not see the face of that constable who shoved his baton into a woman’s genitals? Did we not see a police officer slap a woman? Did we not hear that some police said ‘because of the heat we had to take our name tag off (allegedly to avoid identification)?”
Asked about the government accusing the opposition of deliberately blocking Parliament from running, and specifically about the commotion when the anti-exam paper leaks Bill was being passed. Gogoi replied: “How is that an important bill? It is an amendment of a bill passed two years ago…. and still the NEET leak happened.”
Gogoi also told The Indian Express the opposition intends to corner the government on issues like the alleged theft of donations from the Ram Temple in Ayodhya over the next two weeks of the Monsoon Session.