Govt sets terms for Amit Shah reply on Gen Z stir; FCRA bill splits opposition
With just two days left for the Monsoon session of Parliament to end, which has nearly been a washout, the government is keen on ending
With just two days left for the Monsoon session of Parliament to end, which has nearly been a washout, the government is keen on ending the deadlock with the opposition over discussions on student protests, the Ram Temple donation case and the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). However, the government has set terms for Union Home Minister Amit Shah's reply on the students' stir, saying it would include the agitations in opposition-ruled Punjab and Jharkhand as well, sources said. Read Full Story Moreover, the government has conveyed to the opposition that there should be a proper discussion on the issue before Amit Shah responds. "Issuing a statement will only be a formality; we want proper discussion and not just a statement," government sources said. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party MP Ruchi Vira and other opposition MPs in Parliament WILL PARLIAMENT DISCUSS STUDENT PROTESTS? The Parliament has barely functioned since July 20, when a police crackdown against student protesters during their 'Sansad Chalo' march brought central Delhi to a standstill. Several students and cops were injured as the protesters, led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over exam paper leaks.
Pradhan resigned on July 30, but the Congress and the opposition stepped up their protests over the alleged police excesses on students. Videos and images later surfaced showing protesters with pellet injuries. Since then, the opposition has maintained that the deadlock in Parliament would continue till Amit Shah made a statement over the police action. Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi has particularly urged the Home Minister to tell Parliament who ordered the "firing against students" on July 20, saying that he was "not interested in fantasy conversations". "The question was never that Amit Shah is going to come and give a speech in Parliament. The question was always that Amit Shah has to make it clear who authorised the shooting in Delhi," Rahul said at a press conference on Monday. GOVT OPEN TO DISCUSSION ON RAM MANDIR Rahul has also demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the affected students and called for accountability over the donation theft in Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The Congress MP has termed these three demands as "non-negotiables" to break the Parliament impasse.
Sources said the government is also willing to give in to Rahul's demand for a discussion on the embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple. However, any discussion will take place after a debate on the other issues. The controversy is politically sensitive for the BJP, which has placed the construction of the Ram Mandir at the centre of its political and ideological narrative. Significantly, Uttar Pradesh assembly elections are just months away. OPPOSITION DIVIDED ON FCRA BILL Another bone of contention between the government and the opposition has been the proposed amendments to the FCRA bill - India's foreign funding legislation. Here too, the government has offered a concession. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told the opposition that the government was willing to send the bill to a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) for scrutiny, sources said. By softening its stance on it, the government hopes to get the opposition on board on the women's reservation bill and delimitation of parliamentary constituencies. However, the opposition itself seems to be divided on the FCRA bill itself. The sticking point is the provision that the bill proposes the creation of a designated authority to oversee foreign contributions and assets of organisations whose FCRA registration is cancelled.
The BriefWire