‘Amit Shah gave firing order’ vs ‘No shots fired’: Rahul Gandhi, Centre in war of words as anti-paper leak bill passed

The Centre and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi clashed on Wednesday over allegations of police excesses during a student protest in Delhi on July 20, with the latter demanding the resignation of Union home minister Amit Shah and the former demanding an apology.The government hit back at the Lok Sabha LoP's allegations, saying no bullets were fired and calling Rahul Gandhi’s charges baseless. (Screengrab/SansadTV)Both inside Parliament and outside, Gandhi sought to blame Shah over allegations that security forces brutalised student protesters during the march to Parliament last week. The government hit back, saying no bullets were fired and calling Gandhi’s charges baseless.‘Jab goli chali hi nahi’The dramatic exchanges came during the debate on a stringent new bill that aims for stricter punishment and time-bound trials for people accused of exam paper leaks. The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 – which overhauls the original legislation of 2024 – was passed in a voice vote after a 10-hour-long debate that saw protests, adjournments and a war of words. Gandhi accused Shah – under whose ministry the Delhi Police functions – of ordering pellet guns to be fired on students. In response, Union minister Jitendra Singh said no bullet was fired and only tear gas was used.“’Jab goli chali hi nahi, toh aadesh dene ka sawal hi paida nahi hota; aur aadesh dene ka adhikar magistrate ke pass rahta hai, mantri ke pas nahi’ (when there were no bullets fired, the question of authorising it does not arise, and the directive to open fire is given by the magistrate, not a minister),” he said.ALSO READ | Rahul Gandhi has two-point ‘advice’ for PM Modi, an ‘Opposition guarantee’ for student protesters: Key quotesThis is the first time since the July 20 protest that the government has announced that no firing was done. HT has reported that five people – Sheikh Irshad Mansuri, a 25-year-old employee with a private firm, Nootan Toppo, a 32-year-old woman from Gurugram, a 28-year-old reporter, Prashant Singh, a 25-year-old Bihar resident, and 19-year-old Sahil Lochab, a student aspiring to join the police force – have alleged (in Lochab’s case the allegations were made by the family) that they were hit with pellets on July 20.In the Lok Sabha, Gandhi alleged Shah was responsible for police excesses and the use of pellet guns, triggering furious protests from the treasury benches.‘Show us the order.’ says Rijiju“It is a serious allegation and a breach of his (Shah’s) privilege. Rahul Gandhi must apologise and take back your words. On what basis could you level this allegation? How did you know?” said parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju.Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav tried to come to Gandhi’s rescue and said, if the LoP made an allegation, the government should clarify who ordered firing. Gandhi added that the use of force “could only be authorised by either the prime minister or the home minister,” triggering another round of protests.Sticking to the demand for an apology, Rijiju said, “You claimed that the home minister had ordered firing. Show us the order. How can you make such irresponsible statements.”Speaker Om Birla pointed out that rules of the House did not permit any allegations without prior notice and proof. “Is there a report of an enquiry commission, is there any order? The rules do not permit any member to make such allegations with advance notice.”Gandhi tried to continue his speech, but the House got adjourned twice amid disruptions. This is the second time he could not finish his speech.Some of Gandhi’s comments in the House were later expunged.‘HM gave order, or didn’t know of firing'Speaking to reporters in the Parliament House complex later, Gandhi said, “There can be just two options; the home minister gave the order for firing, the other is that the home minister did not know that there will be firing. In the first case, he is culpable. In the second case, he is incompetent, there can be no other option.”“Supposedly the brave home minister of India, why is he not in the House? If he has not done anything, why is he not coming? It is my right to speak in Parliament and I should have this right,” the LoP said.In his reply to the debate on the exam leak bill, Singh said that Gandhi had little experience in public life.“Without facts, and without a sense of responsibility, saying something in the House and then leaving the House, cannot be the behaviour of a responsible leader of opposition,” Singh said. Gandhi later held a press conference to accuse the government of ordering violence on students who were demanding the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as education minister.‘Pellets, shock batons, lathis with nails’“The (protesting students) were shot with pellet guns. One boy who was shot with a pellet gun is most likely to lose his eye and may not be able to see. I have seen the AIIMS medical certificate, which shows that he was shot with pellet guns. Shock batons were used, not just normal lathis, lathis with nails. Where did the police get this idea from?” he asked.“Multiple times, I asked the speaker to bring order to the house so that I could speak... but I was not allowed... The excuse was that I said something about Amit Shah, that he was responsible for the brutality that was carried out... I was given an assurance that if I apologise, I will be allowed to speak. I will never apologise to the BJP, RSS or any other person associated with them,” he added.BJP’s Sambit Patra hit back. “It is the SDM’s role to decide what action and how much force is to be used. The way he (Gandhi) said Delhi Police is under the home ministry does not mean that the home minister keeps giving orders wherever there is a protest or crowds,” Patra said.Pellets used in July 20 protest marchThe controversy over the conduct of security forces during the July 20 protest has only escalated after the student stir at Jantar Mantar was called off last week following the resignation of Pradhan. At least two rounds of pellets were used on July 20 on the orders of a deputy superintendent of the Delhi Police, according to the statement of a deputy commander of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) recorded in a general diary entry at the Parliament Street police station.The diary entry – filed at 1.24am on July 22 by a Delhi Police sub-inspector and seen by HT – is the first document that shows the usage of pellets during a sprawling student march to Parliament on July 20. It is unclear if the forces used metallic or plastic pellets – both of which are available in the inventory. RAF is a specialised unit within the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) deployed to handle riots and other public disturbances across the country. CRPF has already instituted an inquiry into the allegations.ALSO READ | Rahul Gandhi calls Pradhan’s resignation superficial, attacks Shah, calls RSS real enemySeparately, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court by Yashovardhan Azad, Prashant Singh and Sheikh Irshad Mansoori, seeking direction for decommissioning or banning the use of wholly or partly metallic kinetic projectiles/ pellets fired from pump action rifles or projectile action guns (PAG) for crowd dispersal of civilian assemblies by law enforcement agencies.Section 70 of Delhi Police ActTo be sure, under section 70 of the Delhi Police Act, the central government may empower the police commissioner – or any officer not below the rank of an assistant commissioner of police – to exercise and perform as an executive magistrate.“Every notification made by the central government under section 70 shall be laid, as soon as it is made, before each House of Parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the notification or both Houses agree that the notification should not be made, the notification shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that notification,” Section 71 of the act says.A Delhi Police order signed by an ACP dated June 24 – which clamped prohibitory orders in the Capital till August 22 – also cited Section 70 of the act, acting under a 2010 government notification.People aware of the matter said authorisation letters – which allow the dispersal of the crowd using gas, lathi, firearms, or confinement – are signed by deputy commissioners of police, empowered under Section 70 as executive magistrates. HT has seen one such signed authorisation letter. People aware of the matter said that RAF was collecting such authorisation letters and will include them in its final report.“As the director general of the CRPF, I want to assure each one of you that whether it is an operational battalion or a law-and-order unit, whatever decisions you take and whatever actions you carry out in the bona fide discharge of your duties, I take responsibility for all those decisions and actions. Continue to perform your duties fearlessly,” CRPF chief GP Singh said, according to an ANI video released on Wednesday. He has not publicly commented on the allegations of pellet gun use.