New Delhi:
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav temporarily lost his cool inside Parliament on Wednesday after being denied time to speak on the student protest issue.
“Has there been a deal?” the angry SP chief asked Speaker Om Birla when he was not allowed to speak.
“The issue is about students, not Congress, BJP or SP. You allowed them to speak,” Yadav confronted the Speaker, pointing towards the Congress benches and the treasury side.
“What about us? Have they reached an understanding?” a visibly upset Yadav asked.
The Speaker then allowed the SP MP to speak.
While many interpreted Akhilesh’s angry outburst as sign of a rift with the Congress, the SP chief, later speaking to reporters, clarified that the entire opposition is united in demand for Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
“यह मुद्दा समाजवादी पार्टी, कांग्रेस और बीजेपी का नहीं है, यह मुद्दा युवाओं, छात्र और नौजवानों का है। क्या बेटियों के कपड़े फाड़ेंगे आप?” pic.twitter.com/BlSMJiOO5X
— Rohini Singh (@rohini_sgh) July 22, 2026
“I wanted to put SP’s viewpoint on the students’ issue, so I intervened,” he clarified, denying any confrontation with Congress’ KC Venugopal in the Lok Sabha.
Sources close to Akhilesh Yadav said that he used “deal” word for government and Speaker’s “understanding” and was not attacking the Congress.
He also insisted that any discussion in Parliament can take place only after Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
Government, while agreeing to the discussion in the House, blamed the Opposition for delaying the discussion by raising the resignation demand.
As the Lok Sabha convened, the Opposition demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and a statement from the Prime Minister on the police crackdown on protesting students in the national capital on Monday.
Yadav questioned the Prime Minister’s silence on the issue.
“If the PM can speak on the students’ issue outside Parliament, why can’t he make a statement inside the House?” an agitated Yadav asked.
Talking about the alleged attacks on students, Yadav said they were “brutally assaulted” and that the government must take responsibility.
“If you don’t listen to students, they will come to the streets,” the SP leader said as the Opposition kept up its attack on the government.
“Women students’ clothes were torn, students were hit with lathis, they were left bleeding. Their limbs were broken. Is this the way to treat our students?” the SP MP asked, demanding a statement from the Prime Minister.
“Will you tear the clothes of our daughters? Is this the way to treat them?”
Yadav, who had joined the Congress dharna outside the PM’s residence on Tuesday, said they “were forced” to go to the Prime Minister’s house to protest as he “refuses to speak in the House”.
