Hyderabad, July 29: Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, JP Nadda, on Wednesday said students who choose activism should be prepared to face police action, citing his own experience during the Emergency. His remarks came during a heated debate over the Delhi Police’s alleged entry into the CPI(M) headquarters to arrest student leader Aishe Ghosh.
The Rajya Sabha witnessed repeated disruptions after CPI(M) MP John Brittas raised the issue of Delhi Police personnel entering the party’s national office on Tuesday to arrest Aishe Ghosh, a former president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union.
JP Nadda student activism remarks spark uproar in Rajya Sabha
Brittas alleged that police entered the CPI(M) office to arrest Ghosh, whose only alleged offence was participating in a student protest at Jantar Mantar. He questioned the police action, saying officers cited pending cases from 2020 and 2021 and sought an explanation from the Union Home Ministry.
Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge backed Brittas and termed the police action “very shameful.” He demanded action against the officers involved and accused them of intimidating political workers.
Responding to the Opposition, Nadda said he had also been a student leader and had faced arrests during the Emergency. He stated that maintaining law and order was the responsibility of the police.
“Any student who wants to do activism should face police; even I faced many times during the Emergency,” Nadda said.
His remarks triggered fresh sloganeering by Opposition members, disrupting proceedings. BJP MP Rajib Bhattacharjee was unable to continue his speech amid the protests, prompting Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan to adjourn the House till noon.
Earlier in the day, ministers laid official papers related to their respective ministries. The Rajya Sabha also tabled the Twenty Seventh Report of the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Coal, Mines and Steel on infrastructure development for washed coal production.
Later, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal moved a motion seeking the Rajya Sabha’s concurrence to elect two members to the Joint Committee on Offices of Profit following vacancies created by the retirement of NR Elango and Deepak Prakash. The House adopted the motion.
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