Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Wednesday criticised the Union government over the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a discussion on education in the Lok Sabha, alleging that the Centre was unwilling to respond to concerns raised by the opposition.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Gogoi said the opposition had raised the issue during Question Hour, questioning why neither the Prime Minister nor the Home Minister was present in the House while an important debate on education was underway.
“There is a discussion on the examination, and the Prime Minister or the Home Minister is not in the House. What kind of discussion is this where the Prime Minister is absent and the Home Minister is not present?” Gogoi said.
The Congress leader maintained that the opposition had primarily sought a response from the Union Home Minister on the issues being discussed. However, he said such a response was not possible in the minister’s absence.
“Our primary demand is that the Union Home Minister respond, but since he is not even present, how can he give a response?” he said.
Gogoi further alleged that both the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister were avoiding questions related to the education sector.
“I feel that the Union Home Minister and the Prime Minister do not want to answer regarding education,” he said.
He added that opposition parties had raised the matter during Question Hour to protest what they described as injustice surrounding the issue under discussion.
“Against the injustice that has occurred, the opposition parties raised their voice during Question Hour today,” Gogoi said.
The Congress MP also confirmed that Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi would take part in the debate later in the day.
