‘No Direction From The Chair’ For Amit Shah’s Presence, Says Rijiju As Opposition Protests Home Minister’s Absence
The Monsoon Session’s standoff over Amit Shah just won’t let up. Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for roughly half an hour on Friday morning after Opposition members kept up their protest, demanding the Home Minister show up in the House to answer for police action against students who’d been protesting the alleged NEET paper leak.
Congress-led Opposition MPs raised slogans pushing for Shah’s presence, which the Treasury benches pushed right back against. With the noise showing no signs of dying down, Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan adjourned proceedings until 12 p.m.
When the House reconvened and the day’s listed papers were laid on the table, Leader of the Opposition and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge raised the issue again — pointing out that the Home Minister has now been absent from the House for the entire monsoon session, which began on July 20. He didn’t hold back, accusing the government of disrespecting even the Chairman’s own comments and, in doing so, insulting the House itself.
It’s not the first time this week the Chair has weighed in. On Thursday, Radhakrishnan told Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to “echo the sentiments of the Opposition” to Shah and to “consider the request” for his presence — a request that came amid repeated disruptions during Question Hour. Kharge, addressing a press conference later that day, went further still, accusing both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah of either ignoring Parliament altogether or being reluctant to face it, and demanded both leaders apologize to students over the alleged use of force — including pellet guns — during the protests.
The underlying demand from the Opposition hasn’t changed: they want Shah on record in the House, addressing the July 20 police action against protesters who were marching toward Parliament.
Rijiju Pushes Back
Rijiju wasn’t having any of it. He told the House there had been no actual direction from the Chair, and accused the Leader of the Opposition of misleading members. Speaking to protesting Opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha, he pointed out that Shah has, in fact, been showing up to Parliament every single day, and argued it wasn’t fair to keep protesting over his name day after day. “Amit Shah ji is such a person whose name itself is enough to make terrorists shiver,” he said.
His broader point was about how Parliament actually works: ministers attend based on their own ministry’s agenda, he said, and it isn’t up to the Opposition to dictate which minister shows up and when.
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Turning directly to the Chairman, Rijiju was precise about the distinction he was drawing: “You had given an observation. No direction was given by the Chair.” He also took aim at what he described as a pattern from the Opposition — raising slogans and then walking out — calling it something he condemns outright.
Despite the sloganeering, the Lok Sabha managed to pass a Bill related to the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises sector before the House was adjourned until Monday, August 10.
What’s Next
For all the back-and-forth over his absence, Shah is reportedly expected to attend the Rajya Sabha on August 12 for the discussion on the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, which is likely to be referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee. Whether that appearance quiets the Opposition’s demands — or simply shifts the argument to why it took this long — remains to be seen.
(With PTI inputs.)