Rahul Gandhi on Friday staged a protest outside the Parliament Street police station along with student protester Sahil Lochab, demanding registration of an FIR over alleged pellet gun injuries sustained during a student protest in Delhi.

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha had earlier sought accountability over allegations that pellet guns were used against students. He entered the police station with Lochab and refused to leave after police officials declined to register an FIR, according to the report.

Gandhi later sat on a dharna outside the police station with Lochab and his mother. Congress said the protest would continue until an FIR was filed. Priyanka Gandhi also joined the protest.

Rahul Gandhi shows pellets, cites medical reports

During the protest, Rahul Gandhi displayed a small box containing pellets and said they had been recovered from Lochab’s body.

Gandhi claimed that around 200 pellets were lodged in the student’s body and three were in his eye. He also showed medical reports from Lady Hardinge Medical College and AIIMS, saying they documented more than 200 pellets in Lochab’s body.

Gandhi alleged that Lochab was hit by a pellet gun while peacefully protesting at Jantar Mantar on July 20 and said the injury had put the vision in one of his eyes at risk.

“If police did not fire these pellets, then somebody must have fired them,” Gandhi said, while demanding that an FIR be registered to investigate what happened.

Delhi Police cites Supreme Court panel

The Delhi Police told Gandhi that the Supreme Court had constituted a High-Powered Expert Committee to examine allegations of excessive and disproportionate use of force by police and paramilitary forces during the student protests.

Gandhi, however, continued his protest and demanded registration of an FIR. He said he had been told by police officers that an FIR could not be registered because there were “orders from the top”.

The Delhi Police has denied allegations that pellet guns were used against student protesters. The Rapid Action Force, the riot-control wing of the CRPF, had been deployed at Jantar Mantar during the protests.

BJP attacks Rahul Gandhi over protest

Union Minister JP Nadda criticised Rahul Gandhi’s protest, calling it “cheap, attention-seeking politics”. He alleged that the Congress leader was using the issue to divert attention from the ongoing controversy surrounding the Vande Mataram row.

BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad also criticised the protest, alleging that Gandhi was engaging in the “politics of anarchy”. He said police had informed Gandhi that an FIR had already been registered regarding the incident and that the matter was being investigated.

Rahul Gandhi had earlier raised Sahil Lochab’s case

Rahul Gandhi had previously raised Sahil Lochab’s case in July, presenting the 19-year-old student before the media and alleging that he had been struck by a pellet gun during a march on Parliament on July 20.

The march was linked to the student agitation over the NEET paper leak and the demand for the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Gandhi had also written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking accountability over what he described as a “barbaric assault” on peacefully protesting students and asking whether the use of force, including pellet guns, had been authorised.

A fresh dispute over the Parkal Assembly seat has brought internal differences in the Telangana Congress into the open, with Konda Sushmita, daughter of senior minister Konda Surekha, publicly challenging Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.

Speaking in Parkal on Wednesday, Sushmita questioned the chief minister’s support for sitting MLA Revuri Prakash Reddy and openly challenged his authority over the Congress ticket. Sushmita is aspiring to contest from Parkal on a Congress ticket.

Responding to Revanth Reddy’s backing of the sitting MLA, Sushmita said there was no need to wait for two years and suggested that the MLA should resign and seek a fresh mandate immediately.

She further escalated her remarks by saying, “Whether you, your father, or your grandfather come, I will be the MLA of Parkal.”

Sushmita also said she was prepared to contest the election as an independent candidate if the Congress did not give her the ticket.

Konda Sushmita questions Revanth Reddy’s authority

Sushmita directly questioned the chief minister’s role in deciding her electoral prospects, asking, “Who is Revanth to decide my ticket?”

She also accused Revanth Reddy of arrogance and alleged that his leadership had turned the Congress into a “TD Congress”. She claimed that several leaders associated with the original Congress were unhappy with the direction of the party.

Sushmita also made allegations concerning a Rs 200-crore land deal involving the chief minister’s brother. She warned that she could reveal what she described as other alleged scams involving members of Revanth Reddy’s family.

These allegations were made by Sushmita and are presented as such.

Congress moves into damage control

The public confrontation has prompted disciplinary action within the Telangana Congress.

The party’s state disciplinary committee has sought an explanation from Konda Surekha within three days over her daughter’s remarks against Revanth Reddy.

Separately, senior leader Jakkidi Prabhakar Reddy was suspended, while former minister and Planning Board vice-chairman Chinna Reddy was also asked to explain his position.

The actions came after the Congress high command had emphasised that indiscipline at the ministerial level would not be tolerated and that differences within the party should be resolved internally.

Komatireddy factor adds to Congress tensions

The latest confrontation has also brought the role of Munugode MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy into focus.

Rajagopal Reddy has publicly criticised the Revanth Reddy government, including by raising corruption-related allegations and questioning the role of outsiders and sections of the administration.

His criticism adds another dimension to the internal tensions already visible within the Telangana Congress.

Old guard vs Revanth-era leadership

At the centre of the dispute is a broader divide between the Congress’s established leadership and the power structure that has emerged under Revanth Reddy.

The party’s senior leadership includes Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, N Uttam Kumar Reddy, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, D Sridhar Babu, Damodar Rajanarasimha and Konda Surekha, along with veteran leader V Hanumantha Rao. Several of these leaders had previously expressed reservations about Revanth Reddy’s rise and his elevation as TPCC chief.

On the other side is the organisational structure associated with Revanth Reddy’s leadership. It includes TPCC president B Mahesh Kumar Goud, CWC special invitee Ch Vamshi Chand Reddy, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, Rajya Sabha MPs Anil Kumar Yadav and Vem Narender Reddy.

Ministers including Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy and D Anasuya Seethakka have also been described as being aligned with Revanth Reddy.

What happens next in Telangana Congress?

The public challenge from Konda Sushmita has turned what could have remained an internal ticket dispute into a broader political confrontation.

The Congress leadership now faces the challenge of managing dissent among senior leaders while maintaining the authority of the chief minister. A tough disciplinary approach could risk further alienating established leaders with regional influence, while allowing open dissent to continue could weaken the leadership’s control over the state unit.

For now, the Parkal ticket dispute has become another visible sign of the internal tensions within the Telangana Congress.

Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday hit back at Union Minister Kiren Rijiju over his claim that no student suffered serious injuries during the student protests in Delhi last month, saying he had personally met injured protesters.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha also alleged that police used pellet guns and lathis studded with nails against students during the July 20 march towards Parliament.

Gandhi shared a video of Kiren Rijiju’s remarks on X and questioned the government’s account of the police action during the protests.

“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?” Gandhi said in his post.

The Congress leader said he had met several injured students himself and claimed that videos of the police action had been widely viewed.

Rahul Gandhi attacks Centre over student protests

Gandhi accused the government of trying to deny what protesters allegedly experienced during the July 20 demonstration.

“The fundamental mantra of this government is untruth and violence,” he alleged, adding that attempts to deny the injuries would not change what had happened.

He further said, “Don’t lie to the children of this country. They have eyes and memories too.”

The July 20 protest involved students marching towards Parliament while demanding the resignation of then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

What Kiren Rijiju said about the protests

Rijiju, who holds the Minority Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs portfolios, defended the handling of the protests and said the Delhi Police and administration deserved praise.

During an interview with a news agency, Rijiju said no person had died during the protest and claimed that no protester suffered a broken bone or was admitted to hospital with a serious injury.

“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,” he said.

Rijiju also alleged that people associated with various political groups had joined the protest and contributed to tensions.

He said the police acted only when protesters attempted to march towards Parliament and maintained that the administration handled the situation peacefully.

“In this case, one ought to praise the Delhi Police and the administration,” the minister said, arguing that no death or serious injury had occurred despite the scale of the demonstration.

Rahul Gandhi questions police action

Responding to Rijiju’s remarks, Gandhi questioned how the police action could be praised while alleging that protesters had sustained serious injuries.

His allegations about pellet firing, nail-studded lathis and specific injuries were presented by him as part of his criticism of the government’s account of the protest.

Rijiju, however, maintained that the Delhi Police did not use lathis during the protest and rejected the suggestion that the police response resulted in serious injuries.

The two accounts remain sharply at odds over the nature and severity of injuries suffered during the July 20 student protest.