India’s Bharatiya Janata Party used police action against students in Jharkhand to counter opposition criticism over police violence during student protests in Delhi.
BJP lawmakers demanded an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for the Jharkhand incident as demonstrations and counter-protests disrupted Parliament for a third week. Both houses again failed to conduct normal business, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah did not attend.
Students in Jharkhand have protested alleged corruption, question-paper leaks and irregularities in government recruitment examinations. Police used water cannon and batons when students marched on the state assembly on Monday, according to the report.
BJP and National Democratic Alliance lawmakers brought the issue to Parliament and demanded that Gandhi apologize, although he is not Jharkhand’s chief minister or home minister. Gandhi had criticized the police action and called for dialogue with students.
Gandhi said students were protesting an expensive and oppressive education system and urged the central, Jharkhand and Congress-led governments to accept their demands and reform it.
Student leader Devendra Mahato, who had been fasting for 10 days, joined the assembly march in an ambulance and was hospitalized after becoming ill. He said he had been injured by police batons. His account was reported by supporters and was not independently verified.
The Jharkhand government said it had accepted 98% of the students’ demands. It rejected requests to transfer the corruption investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation and to cancel the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission and Combined Graduate Level examinations.
The dispute continued as BJP opposition groups called a strike in support of students and against alleged police violence.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report