The Congress on Saturday said Parliament has not functioned normally for 15 consecutive days as Home Minister Amit Shah has refused to face MPs over alleged police excesses against protesting students, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi has remained silent on the alleged ‘chanda chori’ issue.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, said the “boastful duo full of bluff and bluster” had been exposed as “cowardly”.
“Parliament has not functioned normally for 15 consecutive days for one and only one reason: The Union Home Minister has refused to come to both Houses and give a statement on police brutalities on protesting youth and students, especially on July 20,” Ramesh said.
The July 20 ‘Sansad Chalo’ march by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to Parliament had turned violent, with clashes breaking out between police and students.
Ramesh said Shah regularly comes to his chamber and sits for long hours but has not faced MPs in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha to answer questions over the Delhi Police’s actions against students protesting the NEET paper leak in the national capital.
He said the actions of the Delhi Police were directly under Shah’s “charge and control” and described his continued absence from the Houses as “unprecedented”.
With four days remaining in the Monsoon Session, Ramesh said Shah should first address the alleged police excesses, while Modi should respond to the ‘Chanda Chori Aastha Dhoka’ issue.
“The Prime Minister must speak on the ‘Chanda Chori Aastha Dhoka’ by the very Trust whose creation he had so grandly announced on the floor of the Lok Sabha on February 5, 2020. His hand-picked Trust has betrayed the trust and faith of all Indians, and he cannot remain silent on it,” he said.
Since the Monsoon Session began on July 20, Congress and other Opposition parties have disrupted proceedings in both Houses over the alleged police action against protesting students and the alleged theft of donations meant for the Ram temple.