"I was a student activist. During the Emergency, when the Congress Party was in power, I was arrested from my classroom on several occasions. Such ...
"I was a student activist. During the Emergency, when the Congress Party was in power, I was arrested from my classroom on several occasions. Such experiences are a part of a student activist's journey," Rajya Sabha Leader J.P. Nadda said while defending the police action, describing it as a routine law-and-order matter.
The Rajya Sabha saw heated exchanges on Wednesday during the Monsoon Session of Parliament as the ruling government and opposition clashed over police action against protesters. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and BJP leader JP Nadda were at the center of the confrontation, which stemmed from the July 20 Sansad Chalo march and led to repeated disruptions, forcing the House to adjourn until noon.
Kharge raised concerns about what he called unauthorised intervention by police and demanded strict action against those responsible for the crackdown on protesters. He pressed for answers on who had ordered the action, and the Congress chief argued that democracy and citizens were not safe under the current government.
Responding to the criticism, including comments from CPI(M) MP John Brittas, Nadda defended the police response, calling it a normal law and order situation. He described his own history as a student activist, saying he had been arrested multiple times while protesting during the Emergency period under Congress rule, and argued that facing arrest is part of what activism entails.
Nadda maintained that police were simply doing their duty and that those who take law and order into their own hands must expect the police to respond accordingly. The exchange took place against the backdrop of student protests linked to the education minister's post and broader unrest over alleged FIRs and detentions of student leaders who had been previously assured otherwise by the government.
The session reflected ongoing friction between the NDA government and opposition benches over the government's handling of protest movements and police conduct during the Monsoon Session.
Video Sansad TV, 29 Jul 2026
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