Lok Sabha logjam enters day 5 as government, opposition stick to their guns

New Delhi: Work in the Lok Sabha was disrupted for the fifth consecutive day on Friday as Opposition MPs remained firm on their demand for Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over the paper leak issue even as Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju renewed his appeal to Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to persuade the Congress to agree to a discussion on the issue in the House. Later, Gandhi slammed the government, especially over the alleged use of pellet guns by police against protesting students.

In his appeal in the House, Rijiju claimed that some Opposition MPs were also keen to resume normal work and urged Gandhi to reconsider the Congress' stand. After the House was adjourned, Gandhi told reporters that the government had denied him an opportunity to respond to Rijiju. He reiterated the party's demand that Pradhan must first resign before any discussion on the paper leak issue could take place in the House.

Later, Gandhi brought before the public a student who had reportedly suffered an eye injury after police allegedly used pellet guns to disperse the agitating students. "The pellet gun was used when my brother was holding the Indian tricolour and protesting peacefully. The government has said no pellet guns were used. See this, this is a pellet gun. His eye has been damaged; he has lost his vision," Gandhi said.