House panel meet sees tense moments as BJP, Congress MPs spar over cop ‘excesses’ and 1984 riots

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress MPs had a heated exchange during a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs over police action against students in Delhi on July 20, it is learnt.

The agenda for the meeting was to hear the views of several ministries on the subject 'crime against children'. However, the opposition members insisted on discussing the police action against students at Jantar Mantar during a protest over NEET paper leak row. For related coverage, explore our detailed analysis on Technology and Digital Systems.

Heated Exchange Over Police Action

A BJP MP interjected, saying if the Congress members were not sticking to the agenda, he too wanted a discussion on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. This triggered a war of words between the two sides, with BJP MP Tarun Chugh and Congress MP Jai Prakash being particularly vocal.

The exchange was so heated that the committee chairman, Radha Mohan Das Agrawal, had to exclude it from the record of the proceedings, it is learnt. The BJP member had said a Congress MP had made some remarks praising Sajjan Kumar, who died last week and was convicted for his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

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The Congress members had argued during the meeting that what happened in the Capital on July 20 was a 'crime against children' and should be discussed. They had submitted a letter to the committee chairman, Agrawal, seeking a discussion on the police action against students at Jantar Mantar.

Congress Insists on Discussion

Agrawal is learnt to have informed the panel that since the matter of law enforcement personnel action was pending before the Supreme Court, it could not be discussed during the meeting. He passed a ruling that the issue raised and said officials from the departments concerned can be called for a meeting in the future.

The agenda for the meeting of the Standing Committee on Home Affairs was to hear the views of several ministries on the subject 'crime against children'. The Congress members on the panel argued that what happened in the Capital on July 20 was a 'crime against children'.

The committee is learnt to have excluded both the Congress MP's letter as well as the heated exchanges between the committee members from the record of the proceedings. It remains to be seen how this issue will be addressed in the future.