Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday led a Congress sit-in near Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence, intensifying the Opposition’s campaign against the Centre over alleged examination paper leaks and recruitment irregularities. The protest, held a day after police used batons and tear gas to stop students marching towards Parliament, was dispersed within three hours, with Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav among those detained by police.

The demonstration marked the Congress’ latest attempt to keep pressure on the government over examination-related controversies, with the party demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and accusing the Centre of failing to safeguard the interests of students and job aspirants.

The protest came a day after thousands of students and youth gathered in central Delhi demanding action over alleged examination irregularities. Congress leaders believe the issue has generated widespread anger among young people preparing for competitive examinations and government recruitment tests, making it one of the Opposition’s key political campaigns.

Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly raised concerns over paper leaks and recruitment examinations in recent months. During public meetings in Kota and Dehradun, he accused the government of failing to ensure transparency in examinations and said repeated irregularities were jeopardising the future of millions of students.

The issue has also drawn support from other Opposition parties. Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) president Sharad Pawar and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal visited protesters at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday to express solidarity with the agitation.

Earlier in the day, Congress Seva Dal volunteers distributed food and drinking water among protesters at Jantar Mantar. The party also directed its legal team to extend assistance to students who were detained or injured during the demonstrations. Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh said the party would provide “all possible legal assistance” to those affected.

The Aam Aadmi Party, however, criticised the Congress protest, alleging it was intended to divert attention from the ongoing student-led agitation. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh claimed the Congress demonstration near the Prime Minister’s residence was aimed at weakening the momentum of the broader movement against examination irregularities.

According to Congress leaders, the plan for the protest was kept confidential until the last moment. Party MPs had initially been asked to assemble at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence to greet him on his birthday. After reaching there, they were informed that they would march towards the Prime Minister’s official residence for a sit-in.

Several Congress MPs later said they had not been informed about the protest in advance. One MP said the leadership intentionally kept the plan under wraps to avoid alerting the police beforehand.

Outside the protest site, Rahul Gandhi was seen distributing plastic zip ties to party colleagues, who fastened them around their wrists before sitting on the road. The move appeared intended to make it more difficult for police personnel to remove protesters individually during the detention process.

In a post on social media platform X, Gandhi urged people across the country to support the protest, saying students deserved justice and accusing the government of avoiding accountability. “An attack on students is an attack on every Indian family,” he said, adding that the Prime Minister could not escape answering questions over repeated examination controversies.

Following Gandhi’s appeal, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Nationalist Congress Party MP Supriya Sule joined the sit-in.

The government said it had tried to defuse the situation through dialogue. Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh said he, along with Home Secretary Govind Mohan, met Gandhi after the Congress leader sought a discussion in Parliament on the examination controversy and the protests taking place in the capital.

According to Singh, the government agreed to hold a discussion in Parliament on all issues related to examination irregularities. However, he alleged that Gandhi later insisted on the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan as an additional condition before ending the protest.

Singh said the government informed Gandhi that Parliament was prepared to debate the issue but maintained that demanding the minister’s resignation before the discussion was not acceptable.

The Congress has continued to press for Pradhan’s resignation, arguing that repeated paper leaks and examination controversies have undermined the credibility of the country’s education and recruitment system. The Centre has rejected the Opposition’s allegations, saying it is willing to discuss the matter in Parliament while defending its handling of examination reforms and investigations into paper leak cases.