Ready to Answer Everything: Amit Shah Offers Discussion Till Late Night

NEW DELHI:
Amid the Opposition’s continued demand for his presence in Parliament, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that he was “ready to answer everything” regarding the police action against students during the July 20 Parliament march over the NEET paper leak issue, while accusing the Opposition of deliberately preventing a discussion from taking place.

The Opposition has repeatedly demanded Shah’s presence in the House and sought a statement from the Home Minister on the police action against students who participated in the protest march. The standoff has led to repeated disruptions in Parliament’s Monsoon Session.

Speaking to reporters on the Parliament premises, Shah hit back at the Opposition over its repeated allegations that he was avoiding Parliament and said that he had been regularly attending the ongoing Monsoon Session.

“Terms like ‘laapata’, ‘bhaag gaye’, ‘Bhagode’ are the kind of language increasingly being heard in India’s public and parliamentary life in recent times. I have been coming to Parliament regularly since the Session began; I sit in my chamber. However, since the Opposition is not allowing Parliament to function in both the Houses, what is one supposed to do by going there?” Shah said.

Addressing the issue of the proposed discussion, Shah said that Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had already made it clear that the government was prepared to hold a detailed discussion on the protests by students.

He said the government had accepted the Opposition’s original demand for a discussion and maintained that he himself had made it clear that he was prepared to answer questions on the matter in Parliament.

“This is what the Opposition’s initial demand was, and we agreed to it. I have also stated that I am ready to answer every question in Parliament. However, they do not want the discussion to take place. Now, the public needs to decide who is running away,” the Home Minister said. Shah further proposed a time frame for the discussion, saying that if the Opposition submitted a letter to the Speaker by 2 pm., the government was prepared to hold the discussion from 3 pm on Wednesday until 3 pm on Thursday.

He said that he would respond to the issues raised by the Opposition by 3 p.m. on Thursday, provided Parliament was allowed to function, and the discussion was taken up.

“I will sit in the House; I will listen to everyone and respond to every point. The government has nothing to hide. I will even discuss why they did not want the discussion to happen. The NDA government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is ready to discuss anything; they just need to let Parliament function,” Shah added.

The Home Minister also stressed that an issue as serious as the students’ protest and the police action against them should “not be reduced to a brief response or statement”.

He said the matter required a “detailed and constructive” discussion in Parliament so that all aspects of the incident could be examined. Shah said the government remained prepared to engage with the Opposition on the issue, but insisted that the proceedings of Parliament must be allowed to continue for such a discussion to take place.