Amit Shah to respond in Parliament on Delhi student crackdown, but Opposition must stand down
India’s Parliament remains deadlocked over police action against student protesters in Delhi, but the government says Home Minister Amit Shah is now ready to...
India’s Parliament remains deadlocked over police action against student protesters in Delhi, but the government says Home Minister Amit Shah is now ready to answer in the House. There is one catch: the Opposition must not disrupt the debate.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told the Lok Sabha on Monday that the government was prepared for a full discussion on the July 20 march to Parliament, when students protested paper leaks and demanded the resignation of then-education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Pradhan has since stepped down.
The move came as the monsoon session drifted into another week of stalemate. The Opposition has pressed for a statement on what it calls excesses against the protesters, along with a separate discussion on alleged theft of donations meant for the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The government, for its part, is offering a debate on the student agitation.
'Listen first'
Rijiju said the government’s offer was clear. Shah would reply point by point. But the Opposition, he warned, should allow the Home Minister to speak without interruption. “My only point made to the Opposition is that while the discussion and a reply are being made, the opposition should not create disturbances,” he said, urging members to hear the government before pressing more demands.
The request reflects a familiar parliamentary pattern in India, where opposition protests and government counters can quickly freeze proceedings. This time, the immediate flashpoint is the alleged use of force against students at Jantar Mantar. It is raw.
Pressure on the floor
Opposition leaders have not backed off. Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said Shah should first answer who ordered firing on students. He dismissed what he called Shah’s “fantasy conversations” and argued that neither Shah nor Prime Minister Narendra Modi had shown the courage to comment on the Delhi events.
The government says it is ready for a detailed debate on “students’ movement and activities related to that,” while also answering all points raised by the Opposition. Rijiju repeated that Shah would give a full reply once the discussion starts.
For now, that sets up the next test of the monsoon session: whether the House can actually talk, or whether the row over Delhi’s protest crackdown will keep Parliament stuck at the same point. “The Home Minister will reply,” Rijiju said. “Once discussion begins, we must have a threadbare discussion.”
