Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in India's Lok Sabha, was forcibly removed and detained by Delhi Police on Tuesday after staging a sit-in outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official residence in New Delhi. Gandhi and other opposition lawmakers, including Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, were taken away in police buses and later released. The protest followed a violent police crackdown on a student march the previous day, in which Delhi Police said 60 protesters and 118 police personnel were injured.

According to Congress leaders, the protest was intended to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG medical entrance exam paper leak and to condemn what they called police brutality against student demonstrators. Gandhi said he had asked the Lok Sabha Speaker for a parliamentary debate on the issue but concluded that the government had "no interest" in holding one. Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh, who was sent to negotiate, alleged that Gandhi initially agreed to end the protest if the government accepted a debate but then added the resignation of the education minister as a new condition. Singh called the change of position "unfortunate and contrary to every norm of democracy."

The confrontation escalated a political battle that has paralysed the monsoon session of Parliament for a second consecutive day. The Bharatiya Janata Party accused the Congress of exploiting students for political gain and announced plans for nationwide protests outside Congress offices. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the government remained "100% committed" to discussing the NEET issue in Parliament and accused Gandhi of choosing "political spectacle over democratic debate." The Biju Janata Dal's Naveen Patnaik, a former chief minister of Odisha, also called for Pradhan's resignation, describing the situation as "very grave."

The protests were driven by the Cockroach Janta Party, a social-media movement that has mobilised thousands of students since May over repeated examination scandals. The NEET-UG test was re-administered last month after a question paper leak, and a separate scandal involving online marking of high school tests has further eroded public confidence. The government said 13 people have been arrested in connection with the NEET leak and that it is taking measures to secure the examination system. Parliament is expected to remain deadlocked as the opposition presses for a debate and the BJP prepares counter-demonstrations.