A light-hearted moment involving Congress MP KC Venugopal unfolded outside Parliament today over Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju's defence of Home Minister Amit Shah.
As Venugopal was walking towards his car, a reporter told him that Rijiju had claimed the Opposition "wouldn't be able to digest" the Home Minister's reply in the House.
Hearing this, the Congress leader, who had just settled into his car, rolled down the window and clapped his hands in amusement and remarked, "The biggest joke I heard today is that.”
What did Kiren Rijiju say about Amit Shah's attendance in Parliament?
Why are Opposition leaders demanding Amit Shah's statement in Parliament?
How has the ongoing stalemate in Parliament affected legislative discussions?
The biggest joke in Parliament was Kiren Rijiju’s statement,” he remarked again, adding, “There was a discussion on the examination bill, he (Amit Shah) could have come,” news agency ANI reported.
Also Read: 'Why should a city be put to ransom unnecessarily': Delhi HC questions Jantar Mantar as protest site
What Rijiju said
{{/usCountry}}Also Read: 'Why should a city be put to ransom unnecessarily': Delhi HC questions Jantar Mantar as protest site
What Rijiju said
{{/usCountry}}Venugopal's remarks came after Rijiju said the Opposition cannot decide which minister will come to the House or when. Responding to allegations that the Home Minister was not attending Parliament, Rijiju claimed that Amit Shah comes to the Parliament complex every day.
“The LoP is misleading the House. There has been no direction by the Chair. I am saying this on the record: from the time Parliament begins in the morning till it ends at night, the Home Minister is in the Parliament. The minister responsible for the business before the House gives the reply. The opposition will not decide which minister is to come and when,” the union minister said, according to ANI.
Amid the ongoing stalemate between the government and the opposition, union minister Amit Shah met the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday.
Shah spent nearly an hour in Birla's office, according to news agency PTI.
Calls for Shah to come to house grow
Amid his continued absence from the Parliament, Opposition leaders continue to ramp up their efforts in targeting home minister Amit Shah.
Holding what looked like an “attendance” chart, congress leader Venugopal on Friday said, “Our Home Minister is absent. He is missing from the Lok Sabha and from Parliament. The Home Minister is missing. Why is he running away from Parliament? He should come and explain who ordered the pellet gun firing. He should come and explain who ordered the tear gas shelling against students...The country needs these answers.”
“The students need these answers. But the Home Minister is completely absent...We also requested the Lok Sabha Speaker to give directions to the Parliamentary Affairs Minister in the same regard. But we do not understand why he is not coming to Parliament when only four days are left.”
The placard held by Venugopal and several other Opposition MPs featured two columns. One listed the dates from July 21 to August 6, while the other marked the Home Minister as "Absent" for each day.
Also Read: Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla criticises Opposition for stalling House proceedings
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi also demanded Shah’s presence in the House, saying, “On opposition's demand that Union Home Minister Amit Shah should come to the House, she says, “I don't think he will come, but I believe he should. He should take accountability if something has gone wrong.”
The Opposition is demanding that Amit Shah come to the House and answer questions over the alleged use of pellet guns and lathis during the Jantar Mantar protests.
Both Houses of Parliament have witnessed repeated adjournments amid protests by the Opposition, which has been insisting on Shah's presence in the House. Opposition leaders have also been staging demonstrations outside Parliament.