NEW DELHI: Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday defended the Bihar and Delhi governments and law enforcement agencies over their handling of student protests, saying security forces managed large crowds without any casualties or serious injuries.“Not a single person died; not a single person suffered a broken bone. Not even one protester is in the hospital with a serious injury. Consider the scale of this movement: thousands turned up, and so many criminals infiltrated under the guise of students,” he said as cited by news agency ANI.Rijiju praised the police and administration for their handling of the protests, while contrasting it with the response to demonstrations under previous Congress-led governments.“If such a movement had taken place during the Congress era, and many did, resulting in thousands of deaths, one should praise the Delhi police and the administration for handling such a massive protest without allowing even a single serious injury. Thousands actually died from gunfire during the Congress era,” Rijiju said.“It is the Congress that imposes an Emergency in response to protests. You might recall how many people have fallen victim to gunfire during the various movements that have taken place in this country. Even during the movement to create the state of Telangana, so many people were killed… In this movement, not a single shot was fired,” he added.Rijiju said that despite the presence of thousands of protesters, including what he described as political agitators from the Aam Aadmi Party, Bhim Army and Samajwadi Party, as well as “dafli-playing agitators”, the Delhi Police used minimal force. He said force was used only when demonstrators attempted to break through barricades and march towards Parliament.“Furthermore, more than half the people, whether from the Aam Aadmi Party, the dafli-playing agitators, the Bhim Army, or the Samajwadi Party, came and incited others to violence; yet, not a single casualty occurred,” Rijiju added.On the Gen-Z movement and its demand for education reforms, Rijiju said the Narendra Modi-led NDA government remained committed to the welfare of the country’s youth.He also called for strict judicial action against those responsible for examination leaks and reiterated the government’s zero-tolerance stance on violence during public protests.“We respect the students’ sentiments. The Prime Minister introduced such a good law and took step after step, promising to work for their future,” Rijiju said.The remarks came amid student protests in Bihar over alleged examination irregularities and the NEET paper leak controversy.
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Clashes were reported between protesters and police in Siwan on July 25 following stone-pelting, after which police used tear gas and lathi charges to disperse the crowd. An AK-47 firing incident was also reported during the unrest.The remarks come weeks after the CJP called off its 37-day protest at Jantar Mantar on July 25, following the resignation of then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and assurances on some of the protesters’ other demands.The agitation was centred on the NEET paper leak issue and drew students and young volunteers from across the country, along with support from opposition leaders. Activist Sonam Wangchuk joined the protest on June 28 and began an indefinite hunger strike. He was later shifted to Safdarjung Hospital after his health deteriorated.The protest also saw police action on July 20 when demonstrators attempted to march towards Parliament. The Congress and other opposition parties later raised the issue in Parliament, contributing to disruptions during proceedings.
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