Firing on protesters: BJP rejects Rahul Gandhi's Amit Shah claim, demands apology

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra rejected Rahul Gandhi's allegations against Home Minister Amit Shah over the NEET protest, demanded the Congress leader apologise for misleading the House and said the Modi government had delivered a robust law to curb paper leaks.

In Short

• Spokesperson Sambit Patra calls Gandhi's allegations lies and demands apology
• Patra states no bullets were fired and law and order handled by local authorities
• Patra defends govt's exam reforms, condemns Congress for spreading falsehoods

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday strongly rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's allegation that Union Home Minister Amit Shah ordered police to fire at students protesting against the NEET paper leak, calling the claim "a lie" and demanding an unconditional apology from the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, party spokesperson Sambit Patra accused Gandhi of misleading Parliament and attempting to derive political mileage from the student protests. "Rahul Gandhi said that bullets were fired at the students. He lied. No bullet was fired. He also lied that Home Minister Amit Shah ordered the firing. When no bullets were fired, where does the question of anyone ordering firing arise?" Patra said.

Responding to Gandhi's claim that Shah was in constant touch with police officials during the protests, Patra questioned the basis of the allegation. "Rahul Gandhi said the Home Minister was speaking to police officers continuously. Did you see him giving those instructions? Were you sitting in his office? Where did you see it?" he asked.

Patra asserted that decisions on law and order at the ground level are taken by local administrative authorities such as the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and Divisional Magistrate based on the prevailing situation, and not directly by the Union Home Minister.

The BJP spokesperson alleged that Gandhi was trying to "steal credit" from the student movement for political gains. "Rahul Gandhi wants to steal credit. He thinks the protesting students have scored political points and is trying to catch up. This is nothing but an attempt to gain political mileage," Patra said.

'SHAH DOESN'T FEAR, HE MAKES TERRORISTS FEAR'

The BJP also took exception to Gandhi's remarks in the Lok Sabha that Amit Shah travels with a convoy of 30 vehicles because he is afraid. "It is a lie. Even the Prime Minister's cavalcade perhaps does not have 30 cars. Rahul Gandhi, come and show me where you saw those 30 cars in Amit Shah's convoy," Patra said.

Hitting back at Gandhi's remark that the Home Minister "trembles in fear", Patra said Shah is "the man who makes Naxalites and terrorists tremble in fear."

The BJP's response came after Gandhi, during a debate in the Lok Sabha on the Prevention of Unfair Means in Public Examinations (Amendment) Bill, 2026, alleged that Amit Shah had authorised police excesses and firing on students marching towards Parliament to protest the NEET paper leak.

PATRA CALLS RAHUL'S CLAIMS 'BUNDLE OF LIES'

Patra accused the Congress leader of making a "bundle of lies" inside Parliament and misleading the House. "On behalf of the entire BJP, I say only one thing – Rahul Gandhi should apologise. You tried to mislead the House and made baseless allegations," he said.

Defending the Centre's handling of examination reforms, Patra said the Narendra Modi government had fulfilled its commitment by constituting a task force comprising experts from various fields and bringing in a stronger legal framework to curb examination malpractices.

"Prime Minister Modi believes that only work speaks in the end. His government has constituted an expert task force and today has brought a robust law to tackle paper leaks," Patra said.

He further alleged that the Congress was attempting to spread confusion and incite anarchy through falsehoods because it was unable to return to power through democratic means.

- Ends
With agency inputs