New Delhi, Aug 12: A war of words erupted between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday even as the former offered to sit in Parliament from “3pm today till 3pm the next day” to hear the opposition’s concerns and respond to every point, amid protests over his “absence” from the Houses with the latter rejecting the offer saying that they seek answer and not lectures.
Shah’s remarks came amid the opposition parties demand that he make a statement in Parliament on the police excesses against students during their July 20 march over the NEET paper leak issue. The opposition has also been protesting in the Parliament seeking Shah’s resignation and his statement in both the Houses over the police action.
Speaking to the media, Shah refuted the opposition charge that “he had been absent or missing” from Parliament and said that the government was ready for a detailed discussion on the issue.
Shah said, “First of all, terms like ‘laapata’, ‘bhaag gaye’ are the kind of language increasingly being heard in India’s public and parliamentary life. I have been coming to Parliament regularly since the session began. I sit in my chamber, but since the opposition is not allowing Parliament to function in either House, what is one supposed to do?”
The Home Minister pointed out that Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had already made it clear that the government was “ready for a full discussion” on the student protests.
He said, “We asked for a time to be fixed and for the Opposition to be ready. That was their initial demand, and we agreed to it. I, too, have stated that I am ready to answer any question in Parliament, yet they simply do not want the discussion to take place.”
“Now, let the public decide who is running away. Let them submit a letter to the Speaker by 3:00 pm today. We are ready for a discussion on all aspects from 3:00 pm today until 3:00 pm tomorrow. I will sit in the House; I will listen to everyone and respond to every point. The government has nothing to hide,” he added.
He even said that he was even willing to discuss why the opposition had not allowed the debate to take place.
“The NDA government—under Modi ji’s leadership is ready to discuss anything; they just need to let Parliament function,. I want to tell the opposition: submit a letter to the Speaker by 2.00 p.m., we will start the discussion at 3.00 p.m., and I will provide answers to everything by 3:00 p.m. tomorrow,” he said.
However, soon Rahul Gandhi hit back at the Home Minister and said that the students and opposition is not interested to listen the imagination or lectures of Shah but they seek answers for police excesses and saying that he (Shah) lacks courage.
Rahul Gandhi said, “The opposition has clearly said that we are not interested in Amit Shah giving us a lecture. When I say ‘we’, I mean the younger generation of this country. Who shot the students? Who gave the order to beat up the students with lathis with nails? Did Amit Shah give this order to shoot our children? If he did, then he should resign. For the last 20 days, Amit Shah has been missing. The Home Minister of India has no courage; he cannot come to the House,” Rahul said.
“Did home minister Shah give orders to shoot our children or not; if he did, he is culpable and if he did not, he is incompetent,” Rahul Gandhi added.
The Rae Bareli MP also took to X, while sharing the video of his remark saying “When a man lacks the courage to speak the truth, his silence speaks for him. Amit Shah’s silence is his confession.”
The Lok Sabha witnessed multiple adjournments during the day as the opposition parties remained adamant for a statement on July 2o excesses and donation embezzlement at Ayodhya’s Ram mandir and kept on sloganeering in the house.
The opposition has been demanding Shah’s presence in Parliament and a statement on the “police action” against students during the Jantar Mantar protest.
Earlier in the day, opposition MPs, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, staged a protest in the Parliament House Complex over the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya and the alleged police excesses against student protesters.
Priyanka Gandhi also questioned the government over the alleged use of force against students.
