Centre blames Delhi government for students’ drowning in coaching centre library; Opposition MPs demand action against culprits
While Rajya Sabha took up the matter as a short duration discussion after an intervention by Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, several leaders expressed their anguish in the Lok Sabha over the incident
Student taking out a candle light protest march at Mukherjee Nagar, demanding justice for Old Rajinder Nagar incident victims, in New Delhi on July 29, 2024
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
The death of three civil services aspirants at the flooded basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle in the national capital came up in both the Houses of Parliament on July 29 with Union Urban Development and Housing Minister M.L. Khattar blaming the Delhi government for the accident. While Rajya Sabha took up the matter as a short duration discussion after an intervention by Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, several leaders expressed their anguish in the Lok Sabha over the incident.
Mr. Khattar said the negligence of various departments of the State government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) led to such an incident and he assured the Upper House that responsibility should be fixed on the officials who did not perform their duties. “Who gave permission for the basement library?” he asked and said the State government and MCD are primarily responsible for not cleaning the sewage in [Old] Rajinder Nagar. “The responsibility of civic amenities are on the State government and the local body,” Mr. Khattar said and asked for coordinated efforts to avoid such mishaps in the future.
Also read |Political blame game over UPSC aspirants’ deaths continues in Delhi
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who intervened in the debate, countered the Opposition’s allegations that the Centre promotes the “coaching centre culture” and the centralised examinations such as NEET are to help such coaching centres. Mr. Pradhan said the Union government had issued clear guidelines on the functioning of coaching centres to the State governments and had asked them to monitor them. “Considering this, the government in January 2024 sent an advisory to States. That is already in public. Had the state governments followed it, this unfortunate incident would not have happened,” Mr. Pradhan said and added that the Centre has been transparent on its steps towards centralising the examinations.
During the debate, the members demanded strict action against the culprits. In an emotional speech, senior SP MP Jaya Bachchan asked the members to be serious about such lapses and stand together with the victims. AAP MP Swati Maliwal, who is not in good terms with her party’s leadership, demanded action against officers of the State government and the MCD. CPI MP Sandosh Kumar P said the coaching industry will be valued at more than ₹1 lakh crore soon and said the mismatch in the quality of education being imparted in schools and colleges is the reason for the mushrooming of coaching centres. M. Thambidurai of the AIADMK and Vijai Sai Reddy of the YSRCP demanded a ban on coaching centres. AAP MP Sanjay Singh and CPI(M) MP John Brittas blamed the Centre for the accident and asked the Union Home Ministry to stop controlling the Delhi government and MCD using the Lieutenant Governor.
Earlier, allowing the discussion on the ongoing issue, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said: “I find that youth demographic dividend of the country has to be nurtured, I further find that coaching has become virtually commerce… It has become a flourishing industry with high returns.” Every penny spent on advertisements is coming from the students and every new building is coming from the students, Mr. Dhankhar added.
In the Lok Sabha too, the issue of coaching centres and the death of the three UPSC aspirants was raised by parties across the spectrum. While responding to a question posed by Congress MP K.C. Venugopal who initially raised the problem with the high rates of suicides among students undergoing coaching for various competitive, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the government had issued guidelines for the regulation of coaching centres in January.
Mr. Venugopal said: “Without an approved building, without any facility, some of the coaching centres become mafia…Is the government going to take any action?” he asked. To this, Mr. Pradhan said some States also have regulations like Rajasthan, Bihar and Goa.
During Zero Hour, however, many other MPs raised the issue. BJP leader and New Delhi Lok Sabha MP Bansuri Swaraj blamed the Aam Aadmi Party’s “utter apathy” to the death of the students and demanded that an inquiry committee under the Home Ministry be set up to probe the incident.
“Criminal negligence of the Aam Aadmi Party has led to the death of these students. An inquiry should be set up on the Delhi government which is neck deep in corruption. Why are the drains not being cleaned in Delhi?” she said.
Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor said there has been a violation in the safety codes, and demanded compensation for the families. He said that drains have to be cleaned and steps taken to prevent recurrence of such incidents. Mr. Tharoor demanded a comprehensive inquiry into the matter.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said the incident was tragic and there should be a thorough investigation to ascertain who is responsible for what has happened to these students. “In Uttar Pradesh, a bulldozer is run over illegal buildings. I want to know if bulldozers will be run here also?” Mr. Yadav wondered.
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