Opposition MPs staged a protest at the Makar Dwar entrance of Parliament House, raising slogans and demanding accountability over two separate controversies: alleged police excesses against student protesters during the recent NEET paper-leak agitation, and allegations of theft of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. MPs participating in the demonstration included Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party's Dimple Yadav and Dharmendra Yadav, Trinamool Congress's Mahua Moitra, JMM's Mahua Maji, and RSP's NK Premchandran, among others.
As part of the protest, MPs placed donation boxes at the site to symbolically represent the alleged theft of Ram Temple donations, with some lining up to place cash in the boxes before raising slogans against the government. The group stood behind a large banner questioning Home Minister Amit Shah's absence from Parliament, directing pointed slogans at him over directions allegedly given to security personnel to use force against student protesters during the NEET-related agitation.
Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said the opposition was still awaiting a response from Shah as Parliament entered its third week of session, arguing that the government had also stayed silent on the Ram Temple donation allegations. This protest follows an earlier demonstration on July 31, when opposition MPs from various INDIA bloc parties gathered at the same spot demanding Shah's response to the July 20 police action on students during the CJP-led "Sansad Chalo" march at Jantar Mantar. At that time, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had backed Rahul Gandhi's earlier allegation that pellet guns were used against protesting students, calling it evidence of the government's failure to protect young demonstrators, while Rahul Gandhi had separately demanded a Supreme Court-monitored independent probe into the incident.
The renewed protest underscores that both the police-action controversy and the Ayodhya donation allegations remain unresolved flashpoints between the government and opposition, even as other legislative business, including exam-reform measures, continues to move through Parliament.
