Hyderabad: Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao urged Rahul Gandhi to face a debate in Parliament instead of avoiding discussion on issues raised by students.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP state office on Tuesday, Rao accused the Congress leader of pursuing what he called “politics of convenience”. He alleged that Gandhi was creating confusion instead of addressing students’ concerns.
Rao questioned Gandhi’s silence over the alleged police action against protesting students in Jharkhand. At the same time, he accused the Congress of creating what he termed a “fake narrative” when similar incidents occurred in NDA-ruled States.
“For the last 15 days, the entire country has been watching how Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly lied, spread absolute confusion and disrupted the greatest temple of democracy (Parliament). Rahul Gandhi’s objective is neither dialogue nor solution, but merely to spread chaos,” he said.
The BJP leader also questioned the nature of the Congress-led protest in Delhi over the NEET issue. He alleged that most participants came from outside and that protesters raised slogans unrelated to students’ demands.
Rao contrasted the Delhi protest with the student agitation in Jharkhand. He described the Jharkhand protest as peaceful and disciplined.
Rahul Gandhi debate becomes BJP’s focus on Parliament conduct
Rao condemned the alleged police action against students in Jharkhand. He demanded that the Congress and JMM governments address the grievances raised by the protesting students.
He also accused Rahul Gandhi of repeatedly changing his demands in Parliament. According to Rao, Gandhi initially sought the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Rao said Gandhi later demanded a discussion on NEET. He subsequently sought a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the incident at Jantar Mantar.
“Rahul Gandhi should not fear the debate or run away from the battlefield in Parliament. Let him face the facts,” Rao said.
The Telangana BJP chief further alleged that Gandhi was disrupting Parliament because he feared a detailed debate would expose what Rao described as the Congress leader’s “lies and deceitful tactics”.
Rao again challenged Gandhi to participate in parliamentary debate and respond to the issues raised by the BJP.
“Rahul Gandhi — don’t run, don’t hide. Face the debate and face the facts,” he said.