Emotional Smriti Irani Attacks Opposition in Parliament

New Delhi: Angry exchanges, slogan-shouting and repeated adjournments rocked the Rajya Sabha, which was scheduled to discuss the JNU controversy and the suicide of Hyderabad research scholar Rohith Vemula.Enraged by the Opposition's allegations over the HRD ministry's interference in the matters of universities, HRD Minister Smriti Irani got visibly angry and attacked the opposition in the Lok Sabha during the debate accusing them of playing politics over Rohith's death.

Union HRD Minister became emotional in the Lok Sabha when she was replying to the debate on Hyderabad Student Rohith Vemula's suicide. "I will not apologise for doing my duty," she said.

"If one Congress-appointed vice-chancellor comes and says with proof that I have saffronised (education), I will quit politics," Ms Irani, who was among the BJP's  top speakers in both houses, said in the Lok Sabha.

In the Lok Sabha, the ongoing Jawaharlal Nehru University or JNU crisis also figured in the debate. The Congress' Jyotiraditya Scindia, speaking first, accused the BJP government of condoning atrocities on Dalits.

"Answer me, was Afzal Guru a terrorist? If not why did your government hang him," asked the BJP's Anurag Thakur directing his question to the Congress and its vice president Rahul Gandhi, who left the house as Mr Thakur spoke.

A united opposition has attacked the government over students being charged with sedition for an event in support of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru at JNU earlier this month, where anti-India slogans were raised.

"All parties in Parliament should clarify whether raising slogans against the nation was freedom of speech or sedition...the Congress Vice President should tell the people whether he supports the raising of anti-national slogans and if not he should condemn it," said BJP chief Amit Shah at a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich.

In the Rajya Sabha, where the government is in a minority, there has been all-out war since the house convened this morning and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati raised the Rohith Vemula suicide.

Shouting slogans, her party members trooped into the well of the House, forcing repeated adjournments. They attacked education minister Smriti Irani and another central minister alleging they played a role in persecuting the research scholar, a Dalit.

"Have a discussion right away sir. Who uses a child as a political tool?" shot back a furious Smriti Irani, who is a member of the Rajya Sabha. She took on Ms Mayawati saying she would answer every question raised in a debate in the house.