Opposition demands Amit Shah’s statement on ‘police excesses’, walks out of Rajya Sabha

The INDIA bloc later also staged a separate protest in the Parliament House complex, targeting the Centre over the alleged crackdown on students and the alleged theft of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

The uproar erupted soon after papers were laid on the table of the House, with Opposition MPs demanding that Shah explain the police action during the July 20 protest.

Raising a point of order, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said the Council of Ministers was collectively accountable to Parliament and insisted the Home Minister answer allegations of police action against students. “When students are lathi-charged and fired upon, there is a genuine demand that the Home Minister should come to the House and give a statement,” Tiwari said.

The Chairman rejected the plea and proceeded with zero hour, following which the opposition MPs walked out of the House.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi accused the government of evading accountability. “Why is Amit Shah so scared of coming to Parliament and explaining the brutal violence against students? It reeks of guilt,” he said in a social media post, adding that paper leaks would continue unless the system was changed.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra alleged that the BJP and the RSS were trying to spread hatred and violence but could not erase the values of truth, non-violence and brotherhood that shaped India’s freedom movement.

Later, Opposition MPs assembled near Makar Dwar in the Parliament House complex and protested against the alleged police action on students and the alleged theft of donations at the Ram Temple.

Holding placards reading “Who gave the order”, the MPs raised slogans demanding that the Home Minister come to Parliament. They also carried a donation box and deposited money into it as a symbolic protest over the alleged diversion of temple donations.

Priyanka was joined by Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav, Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose and JMM MP Mahua Maji, among others.

The INDIA bloc has said that it would continue to raise these issues both inside and outside Parliament during the monsoon session.