New Delhi: In the first statement by a Union minister on the use of force on protesters last week, Jitendra Singh on Wednesday (July 29) said in the Lok Sabha that “utmost restraint” was exercised during the July 20 protests, no shots were fired at protesters and, therefore, there is no question of issuing any such orders.The statement in the Lok Sabha of the Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office came shortly after leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi, during the discussion on the anti-paper leak bill, accused Union home minister Amit Shah of ordering students to be shot at.“First of all, when he [Gandhi] says that the Home Minister ordered firing and then fails to authenticate it, the basic fact is that no minister gives the order for firing; it is given by the magistrate, the SDM, [Sub-Divisional Magistrate] or the DM [District Magistrate]. We have all been legislators and MPs, and in our experience, this indicates that he lacks experience of public life,” said Singh.“Secondly, it has been clarified repeatedly that no firing took place; only tear gas was used. Jab goli chali hi nai, toh aadhesh dene ka sawal paida hi nahi hota. (Since no firing took place, the question of issuing an order does not arise). And the authority to give such an order rests with the magistrate, not the minister.”“To speak without facts in the House does not behove the leader of opposition. On July 21, he went and sat in front of the prime minister’s house because he has been disappointed that he has not become the prime minister in so many years,” said Singh referring to Gandhi’s protest last week outside Modi’s official residence, demanding an apology for the police action on students.Also read: Second Diary Entry Shows Delhi DCP Authorising Use of Pellet Guns in WritingSingh then said that Congress’s deputy leader in the house, Gaurav Gogoi, had said in his statement yesterday (July 28) that innocent youth were attacked, but actually “utmost restraint was exercised”.“Maybe he does not know that utmost restraint was exercised. It was made sure that casualties don’t happen. From 1979 to 1984, AASU demonstrated in Assam and records show 860 innocent people, most of them innocent students, were killed under the Congress [governments]. He must have thought how they attacked innocent students, we also did so,” he said.At a press conference later on Wednesday evening, Gandhi responded to Singh’s statement and said that he had brought a pellet gun victim before the press.“Pellet gun is a lethal weapon. At close range pellet gun can kill a person, blind a person. In front of the press, I showed you a pellet gun victim. There were injuries on his body and in his eye. The AIIMS report said that patient has been shot by pellet guns. Who did this? It’s not one person, there are many. I have given proof. And they are saying we are lying. I have spoken to the victim, to the doctor. And government is saying we did not use pellet guns. Will you go by proof or hollow words?” he said.Singh’s reply to the discussion on the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, came amid loud sloganeering from the Opposition, saying: “We want justice” and “Allow the LoP to speak” after Gandhi’s speech was repeatedly disrupted.Singh’s statement follows at least five reported instances of gunshot injuries to protesters.While the Delhi Police has denied using pellet guns, The Wire has reported in detail about Shaikh Irshad Mansoor who underwent a surgery to remove pellet-like objects from his body at Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC).The Wire has been able to confirm the location where Irshad was injured – over the underground Palika Bazaar in Connaught Place – and also found a video of a Rapid Action Force (RAF) jawan firing what appears to be a pellet gun at the same location and at the same time, on his abdomen. Another video being shared on social media shows a second person with pellet-like injuries received in shots fired at the same site, also on July 20.The Hindu reported Tuesday that a 32-year-old woman who works in Gurugram has said that she sustained gunshot injuries during the youth protests in Central Delhi on July 20. The discharge summary issued for her by the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital, which the Hindu has seen, said she suffered “trauma to right ear by gunshot”.Delhi Police denied on Wednesday evening claims circulating on social media that a protester sustained gunshot injuries, saying its records show that “it is [a] simple injury and there is no evidence of gunshot injury”.Gandhi held a press conference last week in which 19-year-old Sahil Lochab, who was hit in one eye in a pellet gun strike, had shown his injuries. Lochab was operated on at the AIIMS Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre on July 21 and is likely to lose his eyesight in one eye as a result of the firing.On July 22, Outlook magazine reported that one of its own reporters was fired upon by a weapon that matches the description of a gun that can fire pellets. The injuries also match what would occur after being hit by pellets.The Hindu has reported that Delhi Police authorised pellet guns against protesters on July 20 on the directions of a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) rank officer according to the RAF general diary at Parliament Street police station in the early hours of July 22.