New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday rejected the government’s offer of a discussion on student issues, saying the Opposition wanted Union Home Minister Amit Shah to first answer a specific question – who authorised the alleged firing on students protesting in Delhi on June 20? It wanted him to clarify whether he had authorised the police action against the protesting students.
Rahul Gandhi said the Opposition’s demand was never for Shah to come to Parliament and make a general speech.
Kharge repeats questions over police action
“The question was never that Mr Amit Shah is going to come and give a speech on some general topics in Parliament. “Amit Shah does not have the courage to come to the Parliament and stand before us. “The government is ready for a discussion on issues related to students. We are ready and will respond to all the points that will be raised by the Opposition. In a meeting of the Lok Sabha’s Business Advisory Committee (BAC) chaired by speaker Om Birla, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju made the offer. Birla, too, appealed to the Opposition to cooperate in the smooth conduct of proceedings, pointing out that the government agreed on the main demand of the Opposition — a statement by Shah. “We have made it clear to the BAC of the Lok Sabha that the government is ready for a full-fledged discussion on the student and youth agitations that have been going on in different parts of the country as well as police action. Pointing out that the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had demanded that Shah make a statement in Parliament on the student protests. Now, there appear to be some differences between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party — which they need to resolve. As for the student issue, we are ready for a discussion. We have stated our position. Now, it is up to the Samajwadi Party and the Congress to sort out the differences between them. Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has criticised the use of force against students protesting in Jharkhand, saying that young people raising their concerns should be heard rather than dealt with through force. “The use of force against students protesting in Jharkhand is wrong. Students have a right to peaceful protest, and only dialogue can yield solutions. Gandhi’s intervention comes amid growing attention to the student agitation and the government’s handling of the protests. He has repeatedly backed students’ demands and called for their concerns to be addressed.
This is what they have shown in the last 15 days.
The question was always that Amit Shah has to make it clear who authorised the shooting of our youngsters in Delhi,” Gandhi said. The Congress leader said the Opposition also wanted to know who within the Ministry of Home Affairs had authorised the action if Shah himself had not done so. Neither Narendra Modi nor Amit Shah has the guts,” Gandhi said. Kharge said the Congress’s third demand was for the Prime Minister to apologise to the public over the two issues. The Opposition’s remarks came after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government was ready for a detailed discussion on student-related issues and that Shah would respond to the points raised by the Opposition. The Home Minister will respond,” Rijiju said. The home minister will give point-by-point reply to the debate on behalf of the government,” Rijiju said after the BAC meeting. Rijiju said, “We have made our offer. Both the Congress and the SP said debates on both issues were non-negotiable. The BJP has repeatedly criticised Gandhi over his “silence” on the students’ protest in Jharkhand, which is ruled by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), an ally of Congress in the INDIA bloc. The Jharkhand government must continue to hear these students out and resolve their issues immediately,” Gandhi said in a post on X. The students have said they will continue their protest until their demands related to the recruitment examinations are addressed and concrete action is taken against those responsible for the alleged irregularities.
The government on Monday offered to debate students’ issues and police action in Parliament with a reply by Union home minister Amit Shah, in a last-ditch effort to end the two-week-long logjam, but the Opposition insisted on specific responses and a second debate on donation theft in the Ram Temple.
Opposition lists three demands
The third concerned allegations of theft from the Ram Mandir.
The second demand, Gandhi said, was for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apologise over what had happened.
