Parliament turns Jantar Mantar as BJP, Opposition stage protests metres apart

The Opposition and NDA MPs turned the same gate into a stage for competing narratives. While the Opposition pressed the Centre over police action in Delhi, the NDA trained its guns on Rahul Gandhi over police action in Jharkhand.With the two groups standing opposite each other and security personnel holding the line between them, the Parliament deadlock had acquired a very literal picture outside the gates. (Photo: PTI)At Makar Dwar outside Parliament on Tuesday, Opposition MPs and NDA lawmakers stood facing each other across a line of security personnel, raising slogans and holding up competing placards. The security staff had their arms linked to keep the two groups apart, turning the space between them into a physical divide as the rival protests continued.The visuals were striking because both sides had effectively chosen the same spot to make their case. The Opposition had gathered with its demands directed at the government, while the NDA MPs had arrived with banners targeting Rahul Gandhi. The two groups stood within sight of each other, with security personnel holding the line between them.The Opposition was demanding that Home Minister Amit Shah respond in Parliament to the police action against students during the July 20 protest at Jantar Mantar. It was also seeking a discussion on allegations concerning donations collected for the Ram temple in Ayodhya.The NDA MPs had a counter-protest of their own. Their focus was the police action against student protesters in Jharkhand, and their criticism was directed at Rahul Gandhi. One of the banners carried by the BJP side read: “Jharkhand mei chatro pe lathi charge pe Rahul Gandhi jawab do” — asking Gandhi to answer for the lathi charge on students. The Jharkhand protest involved students and job aspirants demanding action over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission. On Monday, protesters marched towards the Jharkhand Assembly in Ranchi and were dispersed by police using tear gas, batons and water cannons. Reuters reported that the protest had been building since July 25 and that some protesters attempted to breach barricades.Rahul Gandhi had already criticised the use of force against the students. In a post on X on Monday, he said the use of force against peaceful protesters was wrong and urged the Jharkhand government to continue engaging with the students and resolve their concerns. That statement became part of the BJP's counterattack. BJP MP Anurag Thakur accused Gandhi of double standards and said the protesting youth of Jharkhand deserved justice. The BJP's argument was that Gandhi was demanding accountability over police action against students in Delhi while the Congress is part of the ruling alliance in Jharkhand.The exchange became more pointed when Priyanka Gandhi Vadra arrived at Makar Dwar.BJP MP Mukesh Dalal was raising slogans against Rahul Gandhi when Priyanka walked past. Dalal shouted, “Sharm karo, sharm karo, Rahul Gandhi, sharm karo.” Priyanka responded that Rahul Gandhi had already met the protesting students in Jharkhand. Dalal then told her: “Go to Jharkhand. Why have you not gone to Jharkhand?”Priyanka continued walking and joined the Opposition MPs. The exchange was captured on video while the two groups continued their separate demonstrations on either side of the security cordon.Priyanka later said the Opposition had effectively forced the government MPs to stage their own protest.“This is the first time we have seen government MPs staging a protest,” she said, adding that the Opposition had “compelled them to this extent”.The Opposition's protest, meanwhile, was rooted in the Delhi student action. Congress MP Manickam Tagore moved an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha seeking Amit Shah's response over the alleged police action against students. He argued that the Delhi Police comes under the Union Home Ministry.The government had already offered to let Shah respond. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Home Minister was ready to answer the Opposition's questions if the House was allowed to function. Rahul Gandhi rejected that formulation, saying the Opposition did not want to hear Shah's “opinion” but wanted an answer on who was responsible for the police crackdown.The disagreement over the two student protests therefore played out on both sides of the security line at Makar Dwar. The Opposition was pressing the Centre over the Delhi incident; the BJP-led side was using the Jharkhand crackdown to question Rahul Gandhi and the Congress.The dispute was not confined to the student issue. The Opposition was also seeking a discussion on allegations relating to donations collected for the Ram temple in Ayodhya, adding another issue to the list of demands keeping the two sides apart.Inside Parliament, the deadlock continued. Speaker Om Birla appealed to the Opposition to allow proceedings to function, while the government maintained that it was ready to respond to its concerns. The Lok Sabha continued to face disruptions as the Monsoon Session entered its final stretch.Outside, the political standoff was considerably easier to photograph.The pictures from Makar Dwar show the two groups facing one another, their placards raised and security personnel standing between them with their arms linked. The videos capture the competing slogans and, at one point, the exchange between Priyanka Gandhi and Mukesh Dalal as the two sides continued protesting around them. (Photo: PTI) The Jharkhand issue also gave the BJP an opportunity to turn Rahul Gandhi's own intervention against him. Gandhi had publicly backed the students and criticised the use of force; the BJP's MPs used the same episode to ask why he was not holding the Jharkhand government to the same standard. (Photo: PTI) The Congress, for its part, continued to focus on the Centre's responsibility for the Delhi Police and pressed for Shah to respond in the House. (Photo: PTI) That is what made the scene at Makar Dwar so visually unusual. The two sides were not simply protesting at the same place; they had brought competing versions of the same argument to the same gate. One camp wanted the Centre to answer for police action in Delhi. The other wanted Rahul Gandhi to answer for police action in Jharkhand.With the two groups standing opposite each other and security personnel holding the line between them, the Parliament deadlock had acquired a very literal picture outside the gates.- EndsPublished By: Shipra ParasharPublished On: Aug 11, 2026 13:46 IST