- Akhilesh Yadav attacked government over anti-paper leak bill.
- Compared recent protest crackdown in Delhi to Emergency.
- Linked paper leaks to alleged Ram Temple donation theft.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav launched a scathing attack on the central government during a debate in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday on an anti-paper leak amendment bill. Taking a jab at the BJP, Yadav said that it was the first student movement which also got the support of parents.
He quipped that opposition fears that like the National Testing Agency (NTA), the entire government can be outsourced. The government has taken away the rights of Dalits and backward classes in recruitment, he added.
He also said that the government used to believe it wouldn't bow in front of anyone. He said, "I was watching the protests from afar. The slogans raised after the victory were against the government. This government used to pride itself on not bowing to anyone, but I want to say that if a government bows, it needs someone to make it bow. When the government is troubled, it accepts demands."
Removed Pradhan to save Pradhan Mantri
Taking a jab at the Centre over the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as education minister, Yadas said, "You removed Pradhan to save Pradhan Mantri (Prime Minister). I praise the students' movement. They have made this government democratic too, because they had to allow protests. We have also seen a time when this government did not even allow people to protest."
Akhilesh retorts after Rijiju invokes Emergency.
During Akhilesh's attack on the Treasury Bench, Parliamentary Affairs Minister in the Lok Sabha, Kiren Rijiju, stood up and asked him whether the government (BJP) that negotiated with protestors and debated the issue in Parliament is better, or the one that imposed the Emergency against protests.
Akhilesh was quick to respond that the scenes in Delhi (lathicharge, tear gas and pellet gun firing) during the protest reminded him of the Emergency.
"I haven't seen the Emergency, but what happened then is what we saw in Delhi last week, when students were brutally beaten with sharp sticks and electric batons and fired upon with pellet guns," he said.
He also added that change came after the Emergency, and the change will come again now.
Questioning the need for a new law, the SP chief said that despite the government introducing a new law in 2024, paper leaks did not stop, and the government has now been forced to bring amendments.
Those failed to prevent donation theft...
Akhilesh Yadav also raised the issue of alleged theft of Ram Temple donations, saying the BJP government failed to stop either the theft or the paper leaks. He said, "The same people who allowed the Ram Temple donations to be stolen are also allowing the paper leaks."
Yadav linked the matter to the Ram Temple donation theft scandal, asking how those who couldn't save donations would save papers.
He said, "I was watching the protests from afar. The slogans raised after the victory were against the government. This government used to pride itself on not bowing to anyone, but I want to say that if a government bows, it needs someone to make it bow. When the government is troubled, it accepts demands."