New Delhi [India], July 22 (ANI): Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha witnessed several adjournments amid a deadlock between the Centre and the Opposition, as the INDIA bloc sought Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation and insisted on a discussion on the NEET-UG paper leak.
Opposition members, including DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, demanded discussion under Rule 267, which entails suspension of specific rules related to listed business in the Rajya Sabha.
The government has stated that it is ready for debate, but the opposition members should not put new conditions.
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, said Pradhan should resign for a fair discussion to take place.
“If there has to be a fair discussion, the Education Minister should resign first. Until he resigns, there won’t be a fair discussion here,” Kharge said.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the opposition was putting new conditions when the government is ready for debate. “If you are looking for excuses to not have a discussion, then it is not right,” Rijiju said, adding that the government was “100 per cent ready” for a discussion on the issue.
Leader of the House and Union Minister JP Nadda alleged that members of the INDIA bloc were behaving irresponsibly.
“The INDI Alliance’s conduct is very irresponsible. We can clearly see this anti-democratic conduct in the Parliament. Parliamentary decorum is being shredded, and democratic values are being violated. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has said very clearly just now that the government is ready to discuss all issues,” Nadda said.
After Congress’ Lok Kalyan Marg protest on Tuesday, the opposition MPs held protests wearing black clothes against the government on the Parliament premises.
The Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Congress MPs Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and KC Venugopal were among the leaders who protested at the Parliament premises.
Priyanka Gandhi criticised the central government for allowing prolonged debates on subjects including Vande Mataram while blocking comprehensive discussions requested by the opposition through adjournment motions.
She told reporters, “We held a discussion on Vande Mataram for 10 hours. Now again, they are bringing a bill on Vande Mataram. Then, why can’t we have a long and detailed discussion on the adjournment motion? You need to ask this from the government.”
Congress MP KC Venugopal said the Opposition had unanimously decided to continue pressing for a discussion on the NEET paper leak issue through an adjournment motion, while reiterating the demand for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav, who was present at the Cockroach Janata Party’s July 20 protest, slammed the Centre over the police action against protesting students, asking if this is the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘Ram Rajya’ where “students are beaten up and girls’ clothes torn”.
“Is this the BJP’s ‘Ram Rajya’? Where students are beaten up, and girls’ clothes are torn. We want a discussion, but the government doesn’t want the same. We want a discussion on the issues of the Ram temple, NEET, and on police and CRPF action against the students. We also want the resignation of their minister (Dharmendra Pradhan),” Dimple Yadav said.
Senior advocate and Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi called the offered discussions an “empty formality” if key opposition demands, including the minister’s resignation, continue to be rejected.
Singhvi emphasised that a meaningful debate requires concrete discussion surrounding key ministerial accountability and active participation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, rather than procedural debates.
Venugopal also alleged that the government cut off the internet around Jantar Mantar, where the CJP is leading a protest. “PM Modi has cut off the internet around Jantar Mantar, which is creating immense panic. This is a direct assault on freedom of speech, to silence the voice of India’s youth and hide the Delhi Police’s brutalities. Be warned, Mr Modi – any untoward step to quash this youth protest will be deeply disastrous, and the people will deliver a historic punishment against you,” the Congress leader wrote.
In other developments in Parliament, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Kalyan Banerjee was suspended from the Lok Sabha for the rest of the monsoon session following a complaint to the Speaker about alleged inappropriate behaviour and intemperate language against women MPs.
Amid rumours of NCP(SCP) joining the NDA camp, party chief Sharad Pawar and MP Supriya Sule met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Parliament. However, NCP(SCP) has denied the claims of switching sides, and Sule was also seen at the Congress-led protest at Lok Kalyan Marg on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, on the streets across states in India, Congress and BJP clashed after the opposition’s protest near the Prime Minister’s residence.
On Tuesday, Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and other leaders held a sit-in protest at Lok Kalyan Marg. Several leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, and Charanjit Singh Channi, were detained by the police.
Both Congress and BJP, today, held nationwide protests.
BJP protest against Congress leaders ended in a scuffle with Students’ Federation of India (SFI) activists, who were already holding a hunger strike outside the Deputy Commissioner’s Office at CTO Chowk in Shimla. Police personnel intervened and brought the situation under control.
SFI Himachal Pradesh State Secretary Vivek Birsanta alleged that BJP workers attacked students who were peacefully proceeding towards the Deputy Commissioner’s office, while BJP Himachal Pradesh Vice-President Balbir Verma alleged that the party’s protest had been organised with prior permission and accused Congress supporters of attempting to disrupt the programme.
A huge protest was held in Mandya, Karnataka, by the District Youth Congress against the NEET-UG paper leak, condemning the central government. The protest march started from the MIMS premises in Mandya and culminated at Sanajay Circle.
In Assam, the Pradesh Congress Committee organised a protest rally in Guwahati, demanding the immediate resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan and the immediate withdrawal of all FIRs registered against protesting students in Delhi. BJP workers also staged a protest in Guwahati against Congress’ Lok Kalyan Marg demonstration.
State Minister Pijush Hazarika said, “7 Lok Kalyan Marg is the residence of the Prime Minister of India, not the private residence of an individual. Therefore, we condemn the drama staged by the Congress Party leader and the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, by going to that residence. As far as the students’ movement is concerned, we will not speak against it. We respect the students and their right to express their concerns.”
Congress workers protested in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, while the BJP was seen protesting in Karnataka, Manipur and Madhya Pradesh as well. (ANI)
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