A parliamentary committee meeting on Tuesday saw heated exchanges over the alleged use of force against protesting students on July 20, with Opposition members demanding a discussion on the issue, sources said.
The matter was raised by Congress member Ajay Maken during a meeting of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs. The panel was scheduled to hear officials from various ministries on the subject of "crimes against children".
Maken sought a discussion on the alleged use of force against protesters, but committee chairman Radha Mohan Das Agarwal did not allow it, saying the matter was sub judice, the sources said.
The exchanges continued for about an hour, with several Opposition members, including Congress's Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jai Prakash, Shiv Sena-UBT's Sanjay Raut, RJD's Sanjay Yadav and IUML's Haris Beeran, also seeking a discussion.
Maken and other Opposition members raised allegations that pellet guns, nail-fitted batons and lathis had been used against protesters, including children, who were marching towards Parliament on 20 July over alleged paper leaks.
The chairman rejected the demand and said the committee would proceed with its listed agenda, under which officials from several ministries were to present their views on crimes against children.
In his ruling, Agarwal said the committee would discuss Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on the use of force against protesters at a later date. The Opposition members then relented and the tensions eased, the sources said.
Earlier, Opposition members had backed Maken's demand, arguing that the alleged use of force against children fell within the committee's remit of "crimes against children".
The chairman, however, ruled that sub judice matters could not be discussed in parliamentary committee meetings, the sources said.
He noted that the issues raised by the Opposition were being considered by the Supreme Court, which had already set up a committee to look into the matter, they said.
The sources said Maken had submitted a letter to the chairman during the panel's August 5 meeting, seeking a discussion on the issue on the grounds that it concerned children and that the alleged use of pellet guns, batons and lathis constituted crimes against them.
The meeting also saw a separate exchange between BJP member Tarun Chugh and Congress's Jai Prakash. Chugh raised the issue of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, while Jai Prakash countered by alleging atrocities in Haryana under the BJP government, the sources said.
The panel meeting was convened to hear views from the Ministry of Labour and Employment; the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education; the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment; and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on the subject of crimes against children.
(With inputs from PTI)