No climbdown by government as Rajya Sabha adjourned twice over NEET issue

Proceedings in the Rajya Sabha were disrupted twice on Monday after Opposition parties pressed for a discussion on the alleged use of force by police against students protesting the NEET paper leak in New Delhi.

The House was first adjourned shortly after it assembled in the morning and again at 12 noon as Opposition members demanded a debate on the issue and sought a statement from Union home minister Amit Shah. The government chose to ignore to the Opposition members demands.

When the House reconvened at noon, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari accused the police of assaulting peaceful student protesters and called on the Home Minister to respond in Parliament. Opposition members repeatedly demanded that Shah address the House.

DMK MP Tiruchi Siva said his party had submitted a notice seeking a ban on the NEET examination, arguing that the scale of the controversy warranted an exception to established parliamentary practice. Referring to students who had died by suicide, he said no government action could restore the lives that had been lost.

CPI(M) MP John Brittas also criticised the handling of the protests, saying Parliament represented the voice of the people and alleging that the country's capital had witnessed violence against young demonstrators.

With the Opposition continuing to raise their demands and the government not yielding, Rajya Sabha chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan adjourned the House until 2 pm.

Earlier in the day, the chairman had rejected notices submitted under Rule 267 seeking to suspend the listed business to take up an immediate discussion on the issue. He said such notices had been admitted only on the "rarest of the rare" occasions.

Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the police action against the protesters and alleged that pellet guns had been used against students during the demonstrations.

The Rajya Sabha has witnessed repeated disruptions since the Monsoon Session began on 20 July, with Opposition parties repeatedly demanding discussions on the NEET paper leak controversy and the government's handling of the protests.

With PTI inputs