‘Ready To Answer Everything’: Amit Shah Offers 24-Hour Window To Break Parliament Logjam

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said he was “ready to answer everything” on the police action against students during the July 20 Parliament march over the NEET paper leak issue, while accusing the Opposition of deliberately blocking a discussion in the House.

The Opposition has repeatedly demanded Shah’s presence in Parliament and sought a statement from him on the police action against protesting students, leading to repeated disruptions during the Monsoon Session.

Shah Hits Back At Opposition

Speaking to reporters on the Parliament premises, Shah rejected allegations that he was avoiding Parliament and said he had been regularly attending the ongoing 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,” Shah said.

He said he had been coming to Parliament regularly since the session began and sitting in his chamber, but questioned the purpose of going into the House when the Opposition was not allowing proceedings to function.

‘Ready To Sit Till Late Night’

Shah said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had already conveyed the government's willingness to hold a detailed discussion on the students' protest and the police action.

He said the government had accepted the Opposition's original demand and that he was prepared to answer questions on the matter.

“I will sit in the House; I will listen to everyone and respond to every point. The government has nothing to hide,” Shah said.

Shah Sets 24-Hour Window For Discussion

The Home Minister proposed that if the Opposition submitted a letter to the Speaker by 2 pm on Wednesday, a discussion could begin at 3 pm and continue until 3 pm on Thursday.

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

He also said he was willing to discuss why, according to him, the Opposition was preventing the discussion from taking place.

‘Let Parliament Function’

Shah maintained that the issue of students' protests and police action was too serious to be dealt with through a brief statement.

He called for a “detailed and constructive” discussion so that all aspects of the incident could be examined.

“The NDA government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is ready to discuss anything; they just need to let Parliament function,” Shah said.