Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday said the country is not interested in Union home minister Amit Shah's speech “on general topics” and sought a statement on the 'authorisation' of alleged firing of pellet guns during the students' protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar last month.
“Amit Shah does not have the courage to come to Parliament and stand before us. This is what they have shown in the last 15 days,” the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha told reporters.
"Neither (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi nor Amit Shah has the guts...No one is interested in his opinion; we just want to know who ordered the firing, and if he did not order it, then who in MHA ordered it? We want to understand: is there culpability or incompetence?" he added.
Also Read | ‘Use of force against students is wrong’: Rahul Gandhi speaks on Jharkhand protest crackdown
{{/usCountry}}Also Read | ‘Use of force against students is wrong’: Rahul Gandhi speaks on Jharkhand protest crackdown
{{/usCountry}}"The question was never that Mr Amit Shah is going to come and give a speech on some general topics in Parliament. The question was always that Amit Shah has to make it clear who authorised the shooting of our youngsters in Delhi. Pellet guns were fired, students were beaten with lathis with nails on them. He should come clean. Did he order it or did he not order it? If he ordered it, he is guilty of getting our children shot. And if he didn't know about it happening, he's incompetent. Either way, he should go. This was the discussion," the Congress leader said.
Govt ready for debate on students' stir
The government on Monday offered to hold a discussion on student protests in Lok Sabha.
Speaking about the government's proposed discussion, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, "Rahul Gandhi has been asking for Union Home Minister Amit Shah's response. Now that we are ready to give a detailed response, Rahul Gandhi is running away. That is why I have said that running away out of fear is not right. He has to face it. I request Rahul Gandhi not to run away."
Union Minister JP Nadda, speaking about the proposed discussion and the Congress leader's demands, said, "Rahul Gandhi keeps shifting the goalposts, both in Parliament and in the narrative, on a daily basis. His objective is not to engage in dialogue but to spread chaos. Initially, at the start of the session, he demanded a discussion on NEET. When we agreed to that, he raised the issue of the Ram Mandir Trust instead; subsequently, he insisted that the Home Minister make a statement regarding the Jantar Mantar incident. His intention is to prevent the House from functioning. He does not want the House to run; that is why he has been disrupting proceedings for the past 15 days while simultaneously pushing for a discussion on the Jantar Mantar issue."
"Today, when it was decided that the Jantar Mantar issue would indeed be discussed, he began misleading the people and the country by claiming that shots were fired at Jantar Mantar, when, in fact, no such incident occurred. The Home Minister is ready to answer every question. Our stance has always been simple: let the House function. If the House runs, we are prepared to answer on every issue, just as we always have," the minister added.
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Demand for debate over students' protests
The Monsoon session began on July 20, and since then there have been repeated adjournments. The Opposition has been demanding a statement from home minister Shah over the alleged police action against protesting students in New Delhi last month.
The student protest was led by the CJP at Jantar Mantar in the national capital. The agitation came to an end on July 25 following the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as education minister.