E-Paper
Govt says ready to discuss student protests, Amit Shah to speak in Parliament: ‘Oppn should not create disturbances’
Home minister Shah expected to speak on matter of police action on protesters on July 20, when Cockroach Janta Party gave a call for a march to Parliament
The Union government on Monday told the Opposition that it is ready to debate the students' issue in Parliament and Home minister Amit Shah will reply.
In the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting chaired by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday, government managers including Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju offered to debate the students' issues.
“Union Home minister will reply to the debate,” Rijiju said at the meeting.
Live here: Monsoon session of Parliament
The government's offer is widely seen as an effort to end the two-week long logjam that impacted the functioning of both Houses, leading to the passage of several bills amid din.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had demanded a statement from Shah in the House on the police action against students protesting the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) paper leak during the July 20 ‘Sansad Chalo’ march by the Cockroach Janta Party, calling it a non-negotiable demand.
In the Opposition's strategy meeting this morning, the leaders decided to continue protests to press for Shah's statement.
According to a government manager, the offer to debate the students' protest should have "fulfilled the Opposition's demand as they had been asking for Amit Shah to make a statement."
'Create no disturbance'
Rijiju told reporters: “The offer made by the government is very clear, that it is ready to have a full and detailed discussion on students' movement and activities related to it.”
He added, “My only point made to the Opposition is that while the discussion and a reply are being made, the Opposition should not create disturbances to prevent the statement of the Home Minister. They must listen to the reply of the Home Minister and the government. Once discussion begins, we must have a threadbare discussion.”
Oppn sees ploy
Some Opposition leaders see the government’s plan as a ploy to divide the Opposition, as the Samajwadi Party, the INDIA bloc's second-largest ally, is keen to debate the alleged donation theft.
The Opposition, however, demanded a discussion on both the students' issues and the donation theft in Ayodhya, senior Congress leaders Gaurav Gogoi and K Suresh told HT.
"We never said that one issue is optional. We have always maintained that the two issues-- students protest and Ram Mandir-- are number one and number two issues for us," Congress' chief whip Gaurav Gogoi told HT.
From the beginning of the monsoon session, the Opposition had launched a series of protests leading to disruptions and adjournments.
The monsoon session is set to end on August 13.
