Union minister Kiren Rijiju squarely denied allegations of any police brutality against students in the recently-concluded student protests against the NEET-UG paper leak in Delhi.
He referred to the July 20 Parliament march led by protesting students in Delhi and said that cops should be praised for handling everything “so peacefully”.
Parliament uproar over police action
The union minister further claimed that several people tried to incite violence and yet no one died, and heaped praise on Delhi Police for controlling the situation. “There were no deaths, right? So shouldn’t we praise cops? Police is also there for our protection. They managed everything so peacefully and yet we are criticising them. Visuals from the day of the protest also showed cops lathi-charging students and allegations of pellet-gun use had also emerged. One recurring issue being raised by the Opposition during the monsoon session of the Parliament is the alleged police brutality during the Delhi protest.
A huge row had erupted last month after student protesters clashed with cops during the July 20 protest march to Parliament called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a hunger strike then.
He also praised the Delhi Police and other authorities for managing the protests despite some “criminals” joining the agitation under the guise of being students. The union minister and BJP MP also claimed that “not one” lathi was used during the protest and that it was only when protesters began a march towards the Parliament that cops tried to stop them. This is not right,” Rijiju said.
