Parliament Deadlock: Amit Shah To Address Student Protest Debate

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju offered a full-fledged debate on student protests with a reply from Union Home Minister Amit Shah to break a two-week parliamentary deadlock. The proposal came during a Lok Sabha Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting on Monday chaired by Speaker Om Birla, who appealed to the Opposition to cooperate in the smooth conduct of proceedings. The only condition, the government stated, was that the Opposition must not disrupt Shah’s speech.

Opposition parties—primarily the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP)—rejected the offer immediately. They demanded specific answers regarding police actions against students and insisted on a separate debate covering alleged Ram Temple donation thefts.

The ongoing monsoon session has been largely washed out for two weeks due to disruptions. It is scheduled to end on August 13, 2026.

"We have made it clear to the BAC of the Lok Sabha that the government is ready for a full-fledged discussion on the student and youth agitations that have been going on in different parts of the country as well as police action. The home minister will give point-by-point reply to the debate on behalf of the government," Rijiju said. He also said there appeared to be differences between the Congress and the SP that they needed to resolve, adding, "Now, it is up to the Samajwadi Party and the Congress to sort out the differences between them."

Demands For Specific Answers

On July 20, 2026, students protested against paper leaks and demanded the resignation of then education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The demonstrators were met with alleged police excesses—including the use of pellet guns and shock batons.

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi rejected a general statement from the home minister. Rahul demanded Shah disclose "who ordered the firing on students". He added that the Opposition was not interested in Shah's "fantasy conversations". Rahul further said, "Students were fired at. They were beaten with lathi with nails. Shah is guilty of either negligence of culpability and he must resign."

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal wrote to Speaker Om Birla. He urged Birla to demand Shah's statement regarding police brutalities on the House floor.

Shah was initially scheduled to introduce two bills on Monday. One proposed changing the name of Kerala to Keralam, and another sought to amend the National Co-operative Development Corporation Act. Ministers of State Nityanand Rai and Murlidhar Mohol introduced the bills instead.

Shifting The Goalposts

The government launched a counter-offensive to address the deadlock. Union Minister JP Nadda accused Rahul of deliberately disrupting Parliament for 15 days and misleading the country.

"Gandhi was demanding a statement from home minister Amit Shah on the Jantar Mantar protest. When the home minister agreed to his demand, the Congress leader changed his goalpost and started demanding a discussion on the alleged embezzlement of Ram temple donation," Nadda said.

Nadda publicly challenged Rahul to stop running away. "Why are they running away from the discussion? I want to state clearly: Rahul Gandhi, do not run away from the discussion. We are ready. We are prepared to discuss every issue inside the House. Do not run away," he added.