Who Gave Order to Fire Pellet Guns? Priyanka Asks Govt

• Priyanka Gandhi questions the use of pellet guns during the July 20 student protest in Delhi.
• Congress MP asks whether the Prime Minister or Home Minister authorised the action.
• She alleges excessive force, including tear gas, water cannons and baton charges.
• Government yet to respond to her demand for accountability during the debate.

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 28th July: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday questioned the government’s use of force against student protesters in Delhi, asking in Parliament who had authorised the alleged use of pellet guns during the July 20 demonstrations.

Participating in the Lok Sabha debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, Priyanka Gandhi criticised the police action against students protesting over alleged irregularities in public examinations.

“What was the need to fire tear gas at those students, to rain lathi blows upon them, or to use water cannons against them? What was the necessity of using pellet guns and AK-47s against the country’s youth? Were they terrorists?” she said.

The Congress leader directly questioned the government’s chain of command, asking whether the order to use pellet guns came from the Prime Minister or the Union Home Minister.

“Will the Home Minister answer? Who gave the order to fire pellet guns? Did the Prime Minister give the order or the Home Minister? The whole country is asking, not just the Congress party,” she said.

Priyanka Gandhi also alleged that women protesters were humiliated during the police action, claiming that young women were assaulted and their clothes were torn while dispersing the demonstration.

Referring to the student movement, she said thousands of young people had protested peacefully while following the principles of non-violence.

“In recent days, thousands of children took to the streets. They expressed their pain by keeping non-violence and truth in their hearts, following the path shown by Gandhiji,” she said.

The Congress MP also criticised the ruling party for welcoming former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Parliament a day after his resignation.

“The day before yesterday, the Education Minister resigned under shameful circumstances, and yesterday he was welcomed in Parliament as if some superstar had arrived,” she said.

The protests turned violent on July 20 when demonstrators marching from Jantar Mantar towards Parliament were stopped by police. Security personnel used tear gas, water cannons and baton charges to disperse the crowd, leading to clashes and detentions.

Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had alleged that a student protester suffered pellet gun injuries during the police action and presented the injured protester before the media, demanding accountability from the government.

The Centre has not yet responded in Parliament to Priyanka Gandhi’s specific allegations regarding the alleged use of pellet guns.