To break the gridlock in Parliament, the government Monday agreed to the Opposition demand that Union Home Minister Amit Shah make a statement in the House on the alleged use of excessive force against protesters in Delhi during last month’s anti-paper leak demonstrations. The only condition, the government said, was that the Opposition must not disrupt Shah’s speech.
In response, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi reiterated that Shah should tell Parliament “who ordered the firing on students”, saying the Opposition was not interested in the Home Minister’s “fantasy conversations”.
Gandhi’s remarks drew a strong response from Union Health Minister J P Nadda who accused him of being interested in “anarchy” and not dialogue. Nadda was one of the two Union Ministers who held talks with the Cockroach Janta Party to negotiate an end to the protest last month.
With three days left in the monsoon session, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju informed Lok Sabha Monday that the government was ready to discuss the lathicharge on student protesters during the march to Parliament on July 20.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi speaks during a media briefing (Express Photo by Amit Mehra )
On August 6, Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan had told Rijiju to “echo the sentiments of the Opposition” to Shah and “consider the request” for the Home Minister’s presence in the House.
“The offer made by the government is very clear: The government is ready to have a full and detailed discussion about the student movement. While the discussion (is on) and the reply is being made, they should not create any disturbance to distract the House or to prevent the statement of the Honourable Home Minister. They must listen to the reply … We must have a threadbare discussion,” Rijiju said.
BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, who was in the Chair at the time, also appealed to the Opposition to let the House function.
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Later in the day, flanked by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Gandhi told a press conference: “The question was never that Mr Amit Shah is going to come and give a speech on some general topics in Parliament. The question was always that Mr Amit Shah has to make it clear who authorised the shooting of our youngsters in Delhi. He is the Home Minister. Pellet guns were fired, students were beaten with lathis with nails. The question is: Mr Amit Shah should come clean: Did he order it or not? If he ordered it, he is guilty of getting our children shot. And if he didn’t know about it happening, he is incompetent. Either way he should go. This was the discussion.”
Gandhi said Shah was “suddenly saying he is ready to speak”.
“We are not interested in his fantasy conversations. We are interested in whether he authorised, or not, the shooting of our children … That is what the Opposition has demanded for 15 days and we continue to demand,” he said.
Criticising Gandhi, Nadda said, “His objective is not to engage in dialogue, but to create anarchy. When Parliament began, Rahul Gandhi first demanded a discussion on NEET. When the government was ready for a discussion on NEET, he brought up the issue of the Ram Mandir Trust.”
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“After that, Rahul Gandhi remained adamant that the Union Home Minister should make a statement on the developments at Jantar Mantar. Today, when it was decided after discussions that the issue of Jantar Mantar would be taken up for discussion, Rahul Gandhi is now misleading the people and the country by claiming that firing took place at Jantar Mantar, whereas no firing took place there,” he said.
Nadda said that while Shah was ready to answer every question, Gandhi was spreading confusion and “running away” from a discussion.
“We want to make it clear that Rahul Gandhi should not run away from the discussion; we are ready. We are ready to discuss every issue inside the House, so do not run away. Can Rahul Gandhi not hear the voices of the students in Jharkhand today? We strongly condemn this and once again challenge Rahul Gandhi to come to the House. We are ready for a discussion, and he will be given a befitting reply,” he said.
Nadda advised Opposition parties, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, to resolve their differences over the logjam in Parliament.
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Earlier, the Congress’s Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, said the party had also demanded a discussion on the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. “Will the Home Minister speak on the theft of donations at the Ram Temple? So far, nothing has come from the government on this. It was a statement (from Rijiju) to mislead the Opposition. The government is running away from its responsibility,” he said.
Asked if the government would also be willing to discuss the Ram temple issue, Rijiju told reporters: “I don’t want to make any comment on that. I have come here to make clear the government’s stand that it is ready for a debate on the student agitation.”
Sources said at the meeting of the Business Advisory Council (BAC) of Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla appealed to the floor leaders of political parties to “let the voice of the people be heard” and allow Question Hour to be held in addition to discussions on key Bills.
The Speaker appealed to all parties to cooperate in ensuring the smooth and orderly conduct of the proceedings since people’s issues “cannot be left waiting in the corridors” and need to be reflected, debated, and resolved on the floor of the House “for the sake of democracy and the people”.
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With the session set to conclude on August 13, the fate of key legislation such as the Delimitation Bill, the operationalisation of the women’s reservation law, and the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, remains uncertain. The session, which began on July 20, has had repeated adjournments and virtually no business except the debate on the anti-paper leak Bill – The Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 – that was passed. Three more Bills were passed in the two Houses with little or no debate and Lok Sabha passed two other Bills, amid the Opposition’s protests.