The demand that has fuelled multiple rounds of bitterness between the Opposition and the central government over the past five weeks ended up becoming a flashpoint at a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs on Tuesday. The July 20 police crackdown on a youth march to Parliament must be discussed, insisted Congress members Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Ajay Maken; but the chairman, BJP’s Radha Mohan Das Agrawal, declined, sources told NDTV.
Opposition MPs argued that minors were among those injured in the lathi charge and that the matter therefore fell within the committee’s remit. A BJP MP immediately opposed this, leading to a heated exchange.
A BJP MP immediately opposed this, leading to a heated exchange between the BJP MP and Congress MP Jai Parkash over the issue, it is learnt. The Congress, however, has pushed for FIRs and a government response nonetheless. After seven hours, the police relented and registered an FIR. They demanded a parliamentary discussion and a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on the police action against the protesting students. Police used tear gas and batons to disperse the march. Pradhan eventually resigned as the protest persisted.
The Opposition MPs argued that minors were among those injured in the lathi charge and that the matter therefore fell within the 31-member committee’s remit. That’s when Agrawal intervened and said the matter was currently sub judice in the Supreme Court and, therefore, could not be discussed, sources further revealed. Congress General Secretary and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with Rajya Sabha member Ajay Maken, raised the issue of the Jantar Mantar protest and the Sansad March of July 20. Tuesday’s argument at the panel meeting comes less than a week after Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (Lok Sabha) Rahul Gandhi staged a sit-in protest at the Sansad Marg (Parliament Street) police station on August 21, seeking an FIR over injuries to student protester Sahil Lochab allegedly by a pellet gun during the Cockroach Janata Party-led march. Earlier, during the Monsoon Session of Parliament that concluded on August 13, parties from the Congress-led INDIA bloc caused a massive uproar throughout. Thousands of protesters led by the CJP marched towards Parliament on July 20, the opening day of the Monsoon Session, demanding the resignation of the then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak and other issues.
