2 weeks ago

Amit Shah cameo marks protest-marred end of Parliament's monsoon session

Amit Shah cameo marks protest-marred end of Parliament's monsoon session
Last-minute Amit Shah cameo ends with song amid Opp protest against police 'brutality' - Telegraph India · telegraphindia.com

India's parliament held a big, noisy meeting called the monsoon session that lasted nearly three weeks.

At the end of the session, many members of parliament were upset because police used batons on student protesters during a march on July 20.

They wanted the home minister, Amit Shah, to tell them who gave that order.

Shah only showed up for a few minutes at the very end, standing next to Prime Minister Narendra Modi while opposition members shouted at him.

Their protest had already grown so strong that the education minister had to quit his job on July 25.

The government still managed to pass 12 new laws, but almost all of them were approved without any real discussion because of the noise.

The government says the opposition is refusing to debate, while the opposition says it only wants answers about the police action.

People are still arguing about what really happened, and leaders disagree about who is to blame.

Key facts

Session
Monsoon session of the Indian Parliament; began July 20; lasted nearly three weeks
Productivity
19% in the Lok Sabha; 39% in the Rajya Sabha
Bills passed
12 (11 passed by voice vote without debate; only the exam paper leak bill was debated)
Key resignation
Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as Union Education Minister on July 25
Opposition demand
A statement from Amit Shah on the July 20 police action against student protesters
Government offer
Detailed parliamentary debate followed by a Shah statement; rejected by Rahul Gandhi
Other protest issues
Alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple; pushback on the foreign funding amendment bill
Prior incident
Winter 2023 security breach in which 146 Opposition MPs were suspended (100 in Lok Sabha, 46 in Rajya Sabha)

Quotes

Rahul Gandhi

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha

““Who ordered the firing on the students?””
telegraphindia.com

Sources

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