Rijiju Defends Amit Shah Amid Opposition Parliament Protests

"They create a ruckus and then disappear. Home Minister Amit Shah comes to Parliament early in the morning and returns only late at night. He remains in Parliament throughout the day. The way they are behaving is wrong," Rijiju said.

"I want to make another point. Home Minister Amit Shah is a person whose very name sends fear among terrorists and extremists. When the discussion begins and Home Minister Amit Shah gives his reply, you will not be able to withstand hearing it," he added.

Rijiju Says Chair Decides Minister's Presence

Replying to the demands that Home Minister Shah should come to the House, Rijiju said that the minister of a respective ministry is supposed to visit the house when the subject matter is concerned to his ministry.

"You cannot dictate which minister should come to the House or who should answer. That will be decided by the Chair and the government," he said.

The Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister's statement came after the opposition demanded for the presence of Home Minister of Union of India and a statement over the police actions on protestors marching towards Parliament on July 20 on the raging issue of the NEET examination scandal had disrupted the functioning of both the Houses.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Echoes Opposition Request

On Thursday, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Radhakrishnan, had requested Kiren Rijiju to "echo the sentiments" of opposition to Shah.

“I request you to consider his (Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge’s) request for the home minister to come to the house. As a parliamentary affairs minister you can echo the sentiments of the opposition to the home minister,” he said.

Rijiju Says Remarks Were Misinterpreted

Later on, reporting to the media outside parliament after the session was adjourned in both the houses, the Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju clarified the statements made by him have been misinterpreted.

“I have said the same inside the House. Which minister speaks, when they speak, and on which subject is decided by the House with the approval of the chairman. Under collective responsibility, it is not for the opposition to decide which minister should speak on a particular issue. Therefore, the chairman's directions should not be misinterpreted,” he said. 

He added, “I want to reiterate that when home minister Amit Shah speaks, the opposition will have to sit quietly and listen. If they instead walk out, they will have to apologise for the disruptions they have been creating for so many days.”