'Disappointed, Totally Frustrated': Rijiju After Amit Shah's Reply Offer Fails To Sway Oppn; Impasse Likely To Continue

The impasse in Parliament is unlikely to end in the final days of the monsoon session as Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday slammed the Opposition for the disruption, saying that he was very "disappointed and totally frustrated."

"First time in my life, I am witnessing a situation where govt wants a debate in Parliament, but Opposition is running away," Rijiju added.

Questioning the Opposition's conduct, the BJP MP said, "It is difficult to imagine that in a democracy, the Opposition does not want a debate when the government is ready for it."

Rijiju's reaction came as Congress, which has been demanding answers from Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the alleged police brutality on student protesters on July 20, rejected the offer of discussion on the issue.

Amit Shah ready for discussion

Notably, the government has told the Opposition that it was ready to discuss the students' issue with an address by Amit Shah.

However, Congress rejected the offer, calling it a face-saver move as the Home Minister remained absent from the House for the entire monsoon session, which is set to end in a couple of days.

On Wednesday, Amit Shah wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla urging him to hold a discussion on the students' issue for as much time, in days or hours, as he wants after consultation with the Opposition. He added that he was ready to discuss all the issues and respond to every question of the Opposition parties.

While talking to news agency PTI, he criticised the Opposition for the Parliament logjam and announced readiness to debate and address all contentious issues if disruptions are halted.

He even challenged the Opposition for a 24-hour parliamentary debate. "As far as the issue of discussion is concerned, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has made it very clear that the government is ready for a discussion on all aspects of the students’ protests related to the NEET issue. The Opposition had initially demanded that time be allotted for a discussion and that the government should agree to it. I have also made it clear from my side that I am ready to answer any questions in Parliament. But they simply do not want the discussion to take place. Now, let the people decide who is actually running away," the home minister told PTI.

Rahul Gandhi's 'not interested in lectures' retort

Reacting to Shah's statement, Rahul Gandhi rejected his offer for discussion. Taking a swipe at Shah, he said that the country's youth is not interested in his 'lectures.'

"The Opposition has clearly said that we are not interested in Amit Shah giving us a lecture. When I say 'we', I mean the younger generation of this country," he said.

He doubled down on his demands that Shah should only tell if he ordered the police action or not.

Gandhi said, "Who shot the students? Who gave the order to beat up the students with lathis with nails? Did Amit Shah give this order to shoot our children? If he did, then he should resign. For the last 20 days, Amit Shah has been missing. The Home Minister of India has no courage; he cannot come to the House."