New Delhi: The government’s offer for a debate and Home Minister Amit Shah’s reply on student protests and police action failed to end the over three-week-long stalemate in Parliament on Monday, with the Congress insisting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi reply to a discussion on the alleged donation theft at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The government accused Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi of shifting goalposts and said he should not “run away” from discussion like a “coward”.
Upping the ante, Gandhi said Shah must come clean “whether he gave the firing orders or not” during the July 20 protest here and that either way the minister “should go”. The Congress said the three issues are “non-negotiable”.
The monsoon session, which began on July 20, has been witnessing repeated disruptions due to protests by a combative Opposition on the issues of student protest on NEET paper leak and Ram temple donation theft.
With the session slated to conclude on Thursday, there is a question mark on the fate of the crucial Women’s Reservation Amendment Bill, which fell in the last session, and the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Amendment Bill.
Of the nine bills cleared by the Lok Sabha, debate could take place only on two, while the rest were cleared without discussion amid noisy opposition protests.
Amid the logjam, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced on Monday that the government is ready for a full-fledged discussion in the Lok Sabha on the student protests and police action across the country.
Home Minister Shah will reply to the debate, provided the Opposition promises not to disrupt and listens peacefully, he said.
The minister said the Congress and Rahul Gandhi have been demanding a statement from Home Minister Shah from day one, and the Opposition party should not walk out during his statement. “It should not be scared,” he said in the Lok Sabha.
Rijiju’s announcement came shortly after a meeting of the business advisory committee (BAC) of the Lok Sabha where the agenda of the House for the next three days was discussed with members from different political parties.
Shah has not been seen in the House in the ongoing session even though he has been regularly coming to Parliament House complex.
“We have made it clear to the BAC of the Lok Sabha that the government is ready for a full-fledged discussion on the student and youth agitations that have been going on in different parts of the country as well as police action. The Home Minister will give a point-by-point reply to the debate on behalf of the government,” Rijiju told reporters after the BAC meeting in Parliament House complex.
However, he said the Opposition has to assure that they will take part in the debate peacefully and will not disrupt the proceedings. They will listen to the Home Minister’s reply and “will not run away” after creating turmoil and sloganeering by citing some excuses.
