Opposition floor leaders to take collective call Monday on ending Parliament protest; Rahul writes to Shah on police action

New Delhi: In the wake of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) ending its agitation after forcing the resignation of the education minister, the Opposition INDIA bloc floor leaders will take a formal collective view on Monday morning on the question of ending their own protest in Parliament.

While a section of the Congress wants to continue with their protest on "pending demands" such as seeking accountability from Home Minister Amit Shah for the police excesses on the agitating students, some others in the Opposition feel, while these issues could be raised by participating in the discussion on the proposed Bill for more measures against paper leaks, there is also a need to raise some other important issues, especially the Ram temple donation theft case.

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"While there are different views on the next move in Parliament, our effort would be to make the final decision collectively at the Monday morning meeting," said an Opposition leader. Even when the INDIA bloc parties unitedly protested last week over the paper leak issue, some parties, including Samajwadi Party, have also been of the view that the Parliament floor should be used to confront the Modi government over the Ayodhya Ram temple donation theft issue, more so since the by-now controversial Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust was established by the Union Cabinet and was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament in 2020. Some Opposition leaders think the expose on the temple theft issue is particularly embarrassing for the government and the BJP as it has also angered many traditional Sangh Parivar supporters. The fact that Uttar Pradesh assembly elections are just months away add to the issue's sensitivity, they feel.

Rahul's Letter to HM

As part of the Congress' effort to stress that there are still pending issues even after the CJP called off its protest, Rahul Gandhi on Sunday wrote to the home minister, seeking accountability for the cops' excesses on agitators. "Security forces deployed in Delhi answer ultimately to you, so I ask: 1. As home minister, did you approve the use of lethal force, including pellet guns, against students? If not, who did? 2. Are the people in plain clothes seen beating students with lathis police personnel or volunteers? Who authorised their deployment?", Gandhi asked in his letter.

Show compassion for Kashmir Youths too: PDP MLA Para

Meanwhile, in Srinigar, People's Democratic Party MLA Waheed Para on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to show the same compassion for the youngsters of Kashmir as was shown to the youngsters protesting at Jantar Mantar and across the country.

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Para accused the central government of "adopting double standards" while referring to the killing of a policeman in Anantnag district following which over 2,500 people were detained, summoned and questioned across Kashmir. Para said the compassion shown to protesting students at Delhi's Jantar Mantar was being denied to the Kashmiri youths. "Around 2,500 Kashmiri youth have reportedly been picked up in the last few days. As the country welcomes the government of India's decision to withdraw cases against student protesters elsewhere, one question remains: why is the same compassion denied to Kashmir's youth?" Para said, adding, "If reconciliation is the right path for young people in the rest of the country, why is it considered the wrong path for Kashmir?"