“If you do not listen to students, they will come to the streets,” Yadav said as the Opposition continued its attack on the government over the alleged crackdown.
Speaking about the treatment of protesting students, Yadav accused the authorities of carrying out a brutal assault and said the government must accept responsibility. He alleged that women students were subjected to severe mistreatment, their clothes were torn, students were struck with batons, left injured, and suffered broken limbs.
“Is this the way to treat our students?” the SP leader asked while demanding a statement from the Prime Minister in Parliament. He further questioned, “Will you tear the clothes of our daughters? Is this the way to treat them?”
Yadav, who had participated in the Congress protest outside the Prime Minister’s residence on Tuesday, said the Opposition was forced to approach the Prime Minister’s residence because he was not responding inside the House.
“If the Prime Minister can speak on the students’ issue outside Parliament, why cannot he make a statement inside the House?” Yadav asked.
The SP chief was detained by police outside the Prime Minister’s residence at Lok Kalyan Marg along with Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and other Congress leaders.
“Rahul Gandhi and I were there to raise the voice of the students. We were forced to protest at the Prime Minister’s residence. If the Prime Minister had listened to us in the House, we would not have gone to his residence,” Yadav said.
The Opposition has been demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan before allowing any discussion in Parliament. It has also been insisting on a statement from the Prime Minister inside the House regarding the police action against protesting students in Delhi.
The government, meanwhile, has stated that it is ready for a discussion in Parliament on the NEET issue and accused the Opposition of delaying proceedings by insisting on the Education Minister’s resignation.
“We have made it clear that we are ready for a debate right away. The Opposition is delaying it,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said.
Congress and other Opposition members arrived in Parliament on Wednesday wearing black clothes as a mark of protest against the alleged brutality against students and the detention of Rahul Gandhi and other leaders on Tuesday.
The continuing confrontation between the government and the Opposition over the student protest issue has intensified political pressure in Parliment, with demands for accountability and official clarification remaining at the centre of the dispute.a
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