The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday hit out at Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi over the agitation near Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence, calling it a "jugalbandi" between the Centre and the Congress. Top Congress leadership, including party President Mallikarjun Kharge, LoP Gandhi and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, staged a 'sit-in dharna' at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg as Minister of State (MoS) in the PMO Dr Jitendra Singh reached the protest site to hold talks and address their grievances, purportedly pertaining to paper leaks and police crackdown on protesting students.
Responding to the same, AAP leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi took a swipe, saying that the PM Modi-led government initiated talks with the Congress "within an hour" of their agitation, something that nearly a month-long hunger strike by climate activist Sonam Wangchuk could not achieve.
Taking to X, Atishi said: "This is amazing! CJP (Cockroach Janta Party) and Sonam Wangchuk: One-month protest at Jantar Mantar. Modi govt refuses to talk to them. Rahul Gandhi: Allowed to protest outside PM residence."
"In one hour, PM Modi-led govt starts dialogue. What a Jugalbandi!" she added. Echoing similar views, AAP MP Sanjay Singh accused the Congress and the BJP of being "involved" in order to "weaken" the protest being led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
"To weaken the CJP's dharna, Modi ji has seated Rahul Gandhi on a dharna at his residence," Singh said in a post on X. Meanwhile, in a post on X, Rahul Gandhi demanded the resignations of PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
He said: "We have marched to PM Modi’s house to demand answers from him for the brutalities against young students yesterday." "The Government doesn’t want to take any accountability, or does it want to have a debate on it in Parliament?
PM and HM must resign for destroying the future of India’s youth," the Congress MP added. This protest march to the PM’s residence comes a day after Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) undertook ‘Chalo Sansad’ protest and Samajwadi Party (SP) MPs also undertook a foot march from Parliament to Jantar Mantar, demanding the government’s accountability on paper leaks.