# Amit Shah offers 24-hour debate; Rahul Gandhi refuses

2026-08-12T20:44:17+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 4 independent outlets

On the penultimate day of the Monsoon Session, Home Minister Amit Shah offered the Opposition a 24-hour window for debate on the July 20 police action against student protesters. Shah said he would remain in the House from 3 pm Wednesday to 3 pm Thursday to answer questions. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi rejected the offer, saying the Opposition wanted a specific answer: who ordered the firing of pellet guns? He said the government was avoiding accountability. Earlier, Shah wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging the Opposition to allow a discussion. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju accused the Congress of "running away" from debate. The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act Amendment Bill was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee after a brief exchange, with the Opposition demanding its withdrawal.

## Coverage

- news.abplive.com <https://news.abplive.com/news/india/parliament-monsoon-session-rijiju-says-government-wants-parliament-debate-opposition-running-away-1861758>
- hindustantimes.com <https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/kiren-rijiju-frustrated-disappointed-amit-shah-parliament-lok-sabha-debate-students-protest-opposition-monsoon-session-101786533483168.html>
- hindustantimes.com <https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/neet-parliament-home-minister-amit-shah-attacks-opposition-missing-remarks-rahul-gandhi-news-latest-students-protest-101786524761654.html>
- indiatvnews.com <https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/parliament-is-for-dialogue-not-hit-and-run-aaj-ki-baat-with-rajat-sharma-opinion-piece-blogpost-2026-08-12-1051153>
- indiatvnews.com <https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/amit-shah-says-ready-to-discuss-any-issue-in-parliament-rahul-gandhi-rebuts-with-we-don-t-care-jibe-2026-08-12-1051122>
- indiatoday.in <https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/fcra-bill-july-20-incident-amit-shah-debate-offer-fails-parliament-deadlock-continues-2969805-2026-08-12?utm_source=rss>

Tags: Amit Shah, Kiren Rijiju, Monsoon session, NEET protests, Parliament, Rahul Gandhi
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