Govt ready for debate on student protests and police action: Rijiju

Opposition presses Amit Shah for a statement on alleged police excesses, while the RSS and BJP prepare a sustained outreach to Gen Z as the monsoon session winds down

The impasse between the government and the Opposition in Parliament persisted on Monday over the demand that Union Home Minister Amit Shah make a statement on the alleged police excesses on protesters in the national capital on July 20.

 

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told the Lok Sabha in the afternoon that the government is ready for a full-fledged discussion in the House on the student protests and police action across the country, and that Shah will reply to the debate, provided the Opposition promises to not disrupt and listen peacefully.

 

The Congress, and the rest of the Opposition parties, insisted that Shah make a statement on who authorised the use of force, including pellet guns, on protesters during the “Sansad Chalo” march on July 20, and that Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi apologise to the nation for the police action. They also demanded a discussion on the alleged embezzlement of donations to Ayodhya’s Ram temple. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the Congress of shifting goalposts on the issue.

 

 

With the monsoon session scheduled to conclude on Thursday, the window for the government to introduce a fresh women’s reservation Bill along with the delimitation Bill has narrowed. The government is also unsure whether it would get the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's (DMK’s) support on the Bills. Government sources also indicated that the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill could be referred to a committee as demanded by Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma and Christian organisations.

 

As the monsoon session winds down, the BJP, along with the larger Sangh Parivar, has worked out a sustained outreach to the country’s youth. Some top Rashtriya Sawayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders, including from its 32 affiliates — such as its political arm BJP and its students’ wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad — will gather in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam next week for an annual coordination meeting.

 

The meeting will discuss “issues related to “Gen Z” among other topics. The three-day meeting will begin on August 19. RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat and General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale will preside over the meeting, which will conclude on August 21. The BJP is also expected to rejig its organisation, with the party’s National President Nitin Nabin set to get his new team of office-bearers by the end of the week.

 

In the Lok Sabha on Monday afternoon, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, “The Congress Party and Rahul Gandhi have been demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah from day one. The government is ready to hold a discussion on the issue of students and give a detailed response. I request the Congress Party to not walk out during his statement. It should not be scared.”

 

When the media later asked whether the issue of the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya would also be discussed in Parliament, Rijiju said the Uttar Pradesh government's probe through a special investigation team (SIT) and several other steps at the state government level are ongoing.

 

Addressing a press conference in the evening at Congress’ headquarters, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi said the country is not interested in Shah's speech in Parliament "on general topics" and asserted that the Union home minister must come clean on who authorised the firing of pellet guns on the protesting students. He said PM Modi and Home Minister Shah have not had the courage to come to the House for over 15 days and neither of them has had the "guts to own up to what they have done”.

 

Gandhi said that the question was never about whether Shah can give a speech in Parliament on general issues. "The question was that Home Minister Shah has to make it clear who authorised the shooting of our children in Delhi. He is the home minister; pellet guns were fired," Gandhi said, adding he must come clean whether he gave the firing orders. If Shah ordered it, he is culpable, and if he did not know, he is incompetent, Gandhi said, adding that either way Shah "should go". He said the PM should apologise for the police action on students during the Jantar Mantar protest. The third issue is the donation "theft" at Ram temple, he added.

 

In his press conference at the BJP headquarters, Union Minister J P Nadda accused Gandhi of deliberately disrupting Parliament for the last 15 days, shifting goalposts, behaving irresponsibly, and misleading the country. "Gandhi was demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on the Jantar Mantar protest. When the home minister agreed to his demand, the Congress leader changed his goalpost and started demanding a discussion on the alleged embezzlement of Ram temple donations," Nadda said.