Sanjay Mishra, New Delhi: The student protest against the NEET paper leak may have ended with the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, but opposition parties have signalled their political intentions to maintain pressure on the government.
The way Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi targeted Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday and posed sharp questions over the alleged police brutality on students during the Parliament march, the opposition will leave no stone unturned to maintain the heat of the student movement on Monday.
By asking the name of the person who ordered lathicharge and firing of pellet guns on the students, the Leader of Opposition did not shy away from directly hinting at the opposition strategy of holding the Home Minister accountable.
Opposition To Demand Apology From PM Modi
Congress, along with other parties in the INDIA bloc, will raise the issue of police violence against students in both houses on Monday, demanding an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The government is also preparing to counter the opposition by introducing a bill on Monday, proposing a new, stricter law against paper leaks.
Amidst the BJP’s strategy to bring back the controversial delimitation bill in the monsoon session, the opposition parties are seeing an opportunity to put the government on the back foot in the heat of the student movement.
Apparently, the opposition does not want to give the government any scope for its political agenda during the remaining three weeks of the session, and the issue of police excesses against students has its own political sensitivity.
Sensing the intentions of the opposition, the government has decided on a counter strategy to introduce a new stringent bill against paper leaks on Monday itself.
Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to the Home Minister
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha also gave an insight into the opposition’s aggressive stance against the students by sharing his letter to Home Minister Amit Shah on X-Post on Sunday.
In a letter sent to the Home Minister on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi asked, “As Home Minister, did you authorise the use of lethal force, including pellet guns, against the students? If not, who did?”
Second, were the people seen in plainclothes beating students with sticks police or volunteers? Who authorised their deployment? Raising these two questions, the Congress leader said that the security forces deployed in Delhi are accountable to the Home Minister, so he has asked these questions.
Demand for accountability for brutal attack on students
Rahul Gandhi, while demanding accountability for the brutal attack on peacefully protesting students in Delhi on July 20, said that our students were demanding a fair and accountable education system.
But instead of listening to them, security forces resorted to indiscriminate force, including the use of lethal weapons and tear gas. Hundreds were seriously injured, and female students were attacked by police officers, deliberately targeting their private parts.
Rahul raised questions on the use of pellet guns
Raising the alleged use of lethal pellet guns on students during the police action, Rahul Gandhi told the Home Minister that media reports clearly show that many people, including a journalist, have been seriously injured by pellets.
He personally met 19-year-old student Sahil Lochab, who is still in great pain and is at risk of losing vision in one eye due to pellet gun shrapnel.
Peaceful protests are the foundation of democracy: Rahul Gandhi
Describing peaceful protests as the foundation of democracy, Rahul said it is the government’s responsibility to protect protesters and resolve their grievances through dialogue. Such brutal and barbaric violence violates every tenet of democracy and enrages the nation.
The future of the country lies in our youth and students, who are demanding accountability today. Their voices will be heard no matter what.