Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said he is prepared to answer all questions raised by opposition parties, provided they follow procedure and formally request a debate in the Lok Sabha.
Speaking to reporters in the Parliament complex, Shah said the opposition should first submit a proper letter to Speaker Om Birla seeking discussion on issues including the student protest. He added that once the debate begins, he would respond “patiently” to every query.
The Monsoon Session, which began on July 20, is set to conclude on Thursday. Proceedings in both Houses have repeatedly been disrupted as opposition parties raised issues such as the police action and alleged pellet use against protesting students at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, and allegations related to donations for the Ayodhya Ram temple.
Shah said the continued disruptions were wasting crores of taxpayers’ money and claimed he has been attending Parliament daily since the session began. He said he was ready for a debate until 3 pm on Thursday and asked the opposition to decide whether it wanted discussion or continued sloganeering.
Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul said the opposition was not interested in what he called “imaginary stories” by Shah, and demanded clarity on who ordered the use of pellet ammunition against students. He said Shah should resign if he ordered it, or resign for incompetence if he did not.
