Rahul Gandhi Accused Amit Shah Of Using Force On Students During Protest, Centre Demands Proof
Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah gave the order to use force on students during the NEET protests during his speech on the current debate over the new anti-paper leak bill. His comments caused a huge commotion in the Lower House, and the Bharatiya Janata demanded evidence from the Congress leader to support his claims.
Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s use of a “unparliamentary” phrase during the discussion of the new law to stop paper leaks caused chaos in the Lok Sabha and a strong pushback from the Treasury benches.
Gandhi distinguished between “students and others” as he stood to address the House.
Gandhi observed, recalling his discussion with a group of students, that students are those who have an open mind and seek the truth, while those who think they know everything fall into the opposite category. The government side strongly objected to his usage of the term “unparliamentary” to describe the second group of individuals.
He recalled the moment while he was having a conversation with a student on Jantar Mantar, and narrated the incident , “I asked the girl, ‘You told me that you were a student. What does it mean? Do you study in college, or school, or does it mean you read books?’ She gave the most beautiful answer; she said, ‘A student is someone who has an open mind and open heart, someone who right from the beginning accepts that they don’t know anything, student knows that whatever he knows would be superceded later by new knowledge, student understands that the universe is constantly changing… and so student understands that knowledge is constantly changing,” Gandhi said.
“She told me that there is another category of people; they are not students…They are absolutely convinced that they know everything; they believe that the universe is static, and they believe that the knowledge emerges from inside them; they believe that they are God, that everything that is to be known is known to them; they are arrogant, they don’t listen, they don’t respect other people’s truth. I said, what do you call these people? She said, ‘I call them idiots, ” he added.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju intervened and insisted that Gandhi stop using the “word” after he had used it several times. NDA MPs joined him in denouncing Gandhi’s usage of the phrase.
The Treasury benches persisted in their complaint notwithstanding Gandhi’s insistence that he was not using the phrase against any members of the House in response to the BJP opposition.
Gandhi was asked to refrain from using the “word” by Rajnath Singh, the minister of defence. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, however, later removed the statement from the proceedings.
Gandhi continued by accusing the RSS of “destroying” the Indian educational system. “”The RSS people are not letting students seek knowledge and truth and are forcing them to study their own version of history that they fantasize,” Gandhi claimed, adding that RSS controls the ministry of education rather than the minister.
Gandhi also criticised Amit Shah, the Home Minister for allegedly using police action against students during the July 20 protest. Gandhi said that Shah “ordered” the attacks on students, saying, “The Home Minister now doesn’t have the courage to face Parliament and speak on the assault of students.”
Gandhi’s remarks about Shah were criticised by Rijiju once more, and he was asked to refrain from making “allegations” against the Home Minister.
Gandhi was asked to apologise for his allegations against Shah. “Where is the proof that Amit Shah ordered the attack on students?Gandhi was questioned by Rijiju.”The Leader of Opposition cannot make wild allegations. He should take his words back and apologise,” Rijiju said.