Protests mark monsoon session of parliament, ends in a stalemate
On the very first day of the monsoon session on July 20, parliament was rocked by a massive youth-led march trying to get to its gates as part of the Cockroach Janta Party movement demanding the resignation of the now former education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over exam irregularities.
The protesters were met with baton-charges and tear gas firing, and since then the opposition has railed against the violent crackdown, demanding an answer in the parliament from Union Home Minister Amit Shah over alleged police brutality.
On Wednesday, Shah said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government was ready for a discussion on the student protests which were triggered by a slew of medical entrance exam paper leaks. The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Congress's Rahul Gandhi, turned down the debate offer saying that the youth wanted answers on who ordered the use of force on protesters and "not a lecture" from Shah.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Union Minister of Parliamentarty Affairs Kiren Rijiju accused the opposition of "running away from discussions" and alleged that opposition disruptions affected parliament's productivity.
During the 19-day monsoon session several demonstrations were held by the Congress-led alliance of opposition parties called the INDIA bloc on the parliament premises against the police action and a donation embezzlement controversy linked to the Ram Temple, a shrine central to Modi's Hindu-first politics.
Lawmakers from Modi's ruling coalition also began staging their own demonstrations, including on the last day over another student protest in Jharkhand — where the Congress party is an ally of the ruling coalition. Tear gas, batons and water cannons were also used to disperse the protesters marching towards the state assembly in Ranchi.
Political deadlock rife as parliament's monsoon session ends
India's parliament convened on Thursday for the final day of its monsoon session amid an unrelenting political standoff between the government and the opposition.
Both houses of the parliament, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, were adjourned sine die shortly after they commenced for the last day of the session.
The country's supreme legislative body struggled to get its business done this season with parliament being turned into a demonstration ground by lawmakers over last month's massive Cockroach protests and the ongoing student protest in the state of Jharkhand.
On Wednesday, Shah said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government was ready for a discussion on the student protests which were triggered by a slew of medical entrance exam paper leaks. The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Congress's Rahul Gandhi, turned down the debate offer saying that the youth wanted answers on who ordered the use of force on protesters and "not a lecture" from Shah.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Union Minister of Parliamentarty Affairs Kiren Rijiju accused the opposition of "running away from discussions" and alleged that opposition disruptions affected parliament's productivity.
During the 19-day monsoon session several demonstrations were held by the Congress-led alliance of opposition parties called the INDIA bloc on the parliament premises against the police action and a donation embezzlement controversy linked to the Ram Temple, a shrine central to Modi's Hindu-first politics.
India's parliament convened on Thursday for the final day of its monsoon session amid an unrelenting political standoff between the government and the opposition.
Both houses of the parliament, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, were adjourned sine die shortly after they commenced for the last day of the session.
The country's supreme legislative body struggled to get its business done this season with parliament being turned into a demonstration ground by lawmakers over last month's massive Cockroach protests and the ongoing student protest in the state of Jharkhand.
