Rush Hour: Youth protests gather pace across India, Gandhi seeks Modi’s apology and more

Protests over the alleged irregularities in competitive examinations and the police crackdown on demonstrators in Delhi continued across the country. Opposition MPs disrupted proceedings in Parliament, demanding a discussion on the police actions and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

In addition to the sit-in at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, demonstrations were also reported from Lucknow, Mumbai, Patna, Raipur and Varanasi. In Patna, police used water cannon, tear gas and a lathi-charge to disperse the protesters. In Mumbai, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Anish Gawande claimed that the police had detained students from their homes without warrants.

Meanwhile, Union Health Minister JP Nadda said that the government is “always open” to talk to the protesters. Read on.

Why BJP workers are worrying about the crackdown on protests, explains Anant Gupta

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed his support for the youth protests over alleged examination irregularities, saying the Opposition must be “on the streets” if students are protesting. He demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the force used by the police during the Cockroach Janta Party’s march to Parliament on Monday.

Gandhi said students were asking for “what this country owes them” and backed demands for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, accountability for the use of force. “What wrong have our...

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