New Delhi : Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday indicated that the opposition is reluctant to back down from its opposition and accept Home Minister Amit Shah’s offer of a debate in the House on the alleged police action during the July 20 student protest.

Hitting out at the Home Minister, Gandhi said the opposition is not interested in “speech” and is not interested in seeking answers on the use of force against protesters.

He questioned who ordered the alleged firing and lathicharge on student protesters and sought accountability from the Home Minister. He also accused Shah of being absent from Parliament and said the Home Minister lacks the courage to face the House.

Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament complex, the Congress leader said, “The opposition has clearly said that we are not interested in Amit Shah giving a speech.

When I say ‘we’, I mean the younger generation of this country. Who shot the students? Who gave the order to beat the students with nails and sticks? Did Amit Shah give this order to shoot our children? If he did, 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.”

In the coming days, the Union Home Minister said that the government is ready for a detailed discussion in Parliament on the students’ protest over the NEET paper leak and asked the opposition to submit a letter to the Speaker by 2 pm so that the discussion can begin at 3 pm.

Shah said that the government is ready to discuss every aspect of the student protest and he is ready to answer questions in the House.

Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament complex, Shah said, “In India’s public and parliamentary life, words like ‘missing’, ‘escaped’ and ‘fugitive’ have been heard recently.

Since the Parliament session began, I have been coming to Parliament continuously and sitting in my chamber.

The opposition is not allowing Parliament to function in both the Houses, so what can anyone do by going there? Talking about the debate, our Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has made it clear that the government is ready to discuss every aspect of the students’ protest against NEET.

A time should be fixed for the debate and the Opposition should be ready. Earlier, they were demanding exactly this. We said yes. From my side, I have also said that I am ready to answer any question in Parliament. But they do not want a debate at all. Now let the public decide who is absconding. Even today, I say, let them give that letter to the Speaker by 3:00 pm today.”

The recent student protests over the NEET paper leak and the ongoing standoff between the government and the opposition over police action on the protesters have led to repeated disruptions in Parliament, with the opposition demanding a response from the government and Rahul Gandhi demanding a response from Shah.

Earlier in the day, opposition leaders staged a protest against the Centre, raising slogans of “Amit Shah Jawab Do” (Amit Shah, answer). The opposition focused its attack on the Union Home Minister over the alleged excessive use of force by the police on students in the national capital and other states.

Report – Abhijit Tushar Bhatt (Political Editor)