Escalation: Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi Led a Protest

On July 22, 2026, in New Delhi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi led a march toward Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence. Police blocked the procession, clashes broke out, and officers used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

The march came after weeks of agitation over alleged exam paper leaks and test errors in NEET-UG and UGC-NET. Congress had launched a 40-day "Chhatron Ki Goonj" campaign across 28 cities and held rallies such as the Sambalpur Jan Akrosh Rally led by Kanhaiya Kumar and Vinod Jakhar.

Much of the anger focused on Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Congress demanded his resignation and called him "insensitive, incompetent, [an] inveterate liar" (The New Indian Express, July 22) and said his continuation was a "blot on democracy" (The Economic Times, July 1). Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also rebuked Pradhan for a "terrorist" remark against protesting students (Daily Excelsior, June 24).

The government signaled openness to talks the same day: JP Nadda said on July 22 it was ready for a "comprehensive discussion" with the opposition to find a "permanent solution" to the paper leak problem (The New Indian Express). Separately, the NTA imposed "unprecedented security" for the NEET-UG re-test (MSN, June), underscoring how large the controversy has grown.

No concrete next steps were set in the reports. Nadda urged opposition parties to "come together" for discussions, but no date or format for talks was announced.

AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources