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ew Delhi: The BJP Member of Parliament, Kangana Ranaut, has created another political storm by making comments about the growing protests of students in the national capital city, where she considers the present scenario as a security lapse and has made pointed queries to Rahul Gandhi of Congress who led the protest to the residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
This happens when the rift between the government and the opposition has become highly charged due to the paper leak case of NEET exam and ensuing student protests.
Addressing reporters before the parliamentary proceedings, the MP from Mandi said that she was glad that parliamentarians were kept secure within the Parliament building from the violence unleashed by CJP during its "Sansad Chalo" agitation, pointing out that there was a fear among the parliamentarians that the crowd could get violent against them.
She thanked the Delhi police for being a barrier and saving people from any physical attacks that could have taken place. Ranaut raised the bar and went on to say that this incident is actually a case of negligence when it comes to security concerns, which she said deserved much more attention.
She moved on to criticise Rahul Gandhi for leading the Congress party members from the residence of its party president Mallikarjun Kharge towards the Prime Minister's official residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. Moving the emotionally charged protestors towards one of the most guarded residences of the country was nothing but foolishness on the part of Gandhi.
However, Ranaut's statements should be seen in the context of the growing deterioration of the law and order situation in Delhi in recent days.
In particular, the CJP movement, which began as a parody protest movement organized in response to a leak of questions from the entrance exams for universities, has now turned out to be one of the greatest threats to the Modi government faced by young people and students.
Protesters called for accountability from the government, in particular, for resigning from office the Ministry of Education Dharmendra Pradhan, accused the authorities of poor handling of both paper leak case and its consequences.
The protest march organized for July 20 "Sansad Chalo" ended with clashes and police resorting to lathicharge and tear gas canisters against protesters, as a result of which several protesters were injured.
After that clash, the nationwide debate took place and resulted in filing of PILs in the Delhi High Court. On the next day, Rahul Gandhi, together with Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other senior members of the Congress Party tried to organize a march to the residence of the Prime Minister in support of students and to make an appeal for accountability regarding police.
There is no doubt that such an event has brought about entirely opposite responses from the two sides. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju informed the press in an NDA parliamentarian meeting that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made sure to tell the party members that he supports the students, and this is a matter of utmost importance to the country.
The Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, reacting for the first time to the Monday demonstration, said that Gandhi was using politics rather than solving the problem of the students. At the same time, the Congress leaders accuse the authorities of employing excess force on the peaceful demonstrators and of deliberately hindering discussions about the problem in Parliament.
They claim that the demonstration of their supporters on the way to the residence of the prime minister was a legitimate form of protest in regard to the attitude towards the students. Ranaut brings a touch of cultural politics into an already very politicized confrontation.
As a renowned actress turned politician who is famous for her opinions, she is bound to highlight the idea that the party leadership shares responsibility for the volatility of the situation to some extent, as opposed to the.
The political deadlock has made its way into the current Monsoon session of Parliament that has been adjourned for two days running as the opposition seeks debate on the leaking of exam papers and police handling of the student agitation.
In view of the fact that both sides have hardened their stance and as the Delhi High Court is investigating the question of police behavior during the protest march of July 20, there is no indication of any easing of tensions in the near future.
