Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday wrote a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, seeking a discussion in the lower house on the recently held student protest in Delhi over paper leaks and the police action during their march to Parliament on July 21.
The development comes after Shah offered the Opposition a 24-hour window to hold a discussion in Parliament to break the ongoing deadlock, saying he was ready to answer all questions raised by the Opposition. Shah said he would remain present in the House from 3 pm on Wednesday until 3 pm on Thursday to participate in the discussion.
Speaking to mediapersons outside Parliament, the Home Minister urged Opposition parties to submit a letter to the Speaker by 2 pm, following which the discussion could begin at 3 pm. He said he was prepared to continue the debate through the night and remain in the House until 3 pm on Thursday to respond to every issue raised by the Opposition.
"There are established rules and procedures for parliamentary discussions. Such a serious issue cannot be discussed simply through a statement. In Parliament, discussions are held at length," Shah said, adding that he was even willing to suspend Question Hour if the Lok Sabha Speaker permitted it.
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On Monday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced that the government was ready for a full-fledged discussion in the Lok Sabha on student protests and police action across the country. He said Union Home Minister Amit Shah would respond to the debate, provided the Opposition agreed not to disrupt proceedings and listened to the discussion peacefully.
Referring to the Opposition's earlier demand for time to discuss the issue, Shah said he had already made it clear that he was prepared to answer all questions in Parliament. However, he alleged that the Opposition was unwilling to allow the discussion to take place.
"But they simply do not want the discussion to take place. Now, let the people decide who is actually running away," Shah said. He added that he was also prepared to discuss why the Opposition "does not" want the matter to be debated in Parliament.
Shah said the NDA government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was ready to hold discussions on every issue.
Soon after Shah's statement, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the Opposition was not interested in listening to the Home Minister's "lecture" in Parliament. Gandhi said the younger generation of the country wanted answers about who ordered the use of pellet guns against protesting students.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha further said that if Shah had ordered that students be shot at, he would be culpable, while if he had not issued such an order, he would be incompetent. Gandhi argued that in either situation, Shah should resign from his position as Home Minister.
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