'No Shots Fired, No One Gave Any Such Order': BJP Accuses Rahul Gandhi of Lying About Police Action During Delhi Protests

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday strongly rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations regarding police action during the July 20 student protests at Jantar Mantar, asserting that no shots were fired and no such orders were issued.

BJP MP and national spokesperson Sambit Patra dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s claims as baseless and factually incorrect.

“Rahul Gandhi had no evidence or facts; he lied. He claimed that shots were fired at students. I refute that. I want to clarify that no shots were fired,” Patra said at a press conference.

Patra further refuted the Leader of Opposition’s charge that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had ordered the firing.

“He alleged that Amit Shah gave the order; since no shots were fired, this claim is false. Whenever shots are fired, the decision is taken by a magistrate. No shots were fired, and no one gave any such order,” he added.

Rahul Gandhi's Accusations

Rahul Gandhi had earlier accused Amit Shah of being either “culpable or incompetent” in handling the protests. Speaking to reporters after the Lok Sabha was adjourned, he outlined two possibilities: either the Home Minister issued the order for firing, or he was unaware of it.

“In the first case, he is culpable; in the second, he is incompetent—there is no third possibility,” Gandhi said.

Patra criticised this narrative, pointing out that Rahul Gandhi repeated what he called a familiar pattern of making unsubstantiated claims. He also took a light swipe at the Congress leader’s reliance on inputs during his speech, noting that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was seen whispering to him.

“Even when he didn’t know the facts, Priyanka Gandhi ji was whispering something in his ear,” Patra remarked.

BJP Responds To Rahul's ‘Idiots’ Remark

The BJP spokesperson also addressed Rahul Gandhi’s reference to three categories of people--students, “idiots,” and “Andh-bhakts” (blind devotees)--which the Congress leader attributed to a student’s statement.

“I want to state that no student is either an ‘idiot’ or an ‘Andh-bhakt’,” Patra asserted.

The protests were linked to concerns over paper leaks and examinations. Patra highlighted that the Union government has initiated steps to strengthen the 2024 anti-paper leak law. He noted that 45 MPs participated in the discussion on the bill, with Union Minister Jitendra Singh responding on behalf of the government. The minister also questioned whether Rahul Gandhi was aware of basic parliamentary norms.

The government expressed confidence that the strengthened legislation would effectively curb incidents of paper leaks in the future.

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