Democracy is finished; Opposition not being allowed to speak in Parliament: Priyanka Gandhi

New Delhi: Dressed in black in solidarity with protesting students, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday said "democracy is finished" and what is happening in Parliament is "undemocratic" with debate not being allowed on students' issues.

Referring to the Congress' protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence on Tuesday, Priyanka Gandhi said the biggest thing in democracy is freedom of expression and right to peaceful protest.

"There is nothing undemocratic about that. What is undemocratic is what is happening in Parliament and on the streets," she said.

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and several other opposition MPs, dressed in black, staged a protest outside Parliament on Wednesday against the alleged police brutality on protesting students.

"In Parliament, debate is not being allowed. The Leader of Opposition is not allowed to speak, and neither are other opposition leaders. Whenever they rise to speak, they are stopped," Priyanka Gandhi told reporters in the Parliament House complex.

"The Speaker says he has to ask the government whether a debate can take place. What is this? Democracy is finished," the Congress general secretary said.

On the Congress' protest outside the PM's residence during which Rahul Gandhi, SP's Akhilesh Yadav and many others were detained, Priyanka Gandhi said, "What happened to us is irrelevant. We are standing with the students and raising their voice. What happened to the students- was it right or wrong? They are all young students.

"They are protesting, and this is not just any protest. It is a genuine issue, a genuine problem. Every parent in this country knows it. Every student in this country knows it. Every teacher in this country knows it. Everyone knows this is a genuine issue," the Congress MP said.

The students are only asking for their rights, she asserted.

These students study with immense dedication and struggle to build a future for themselves, and their future is being destroyed, she said, lashing out at the government.

"The entire education budget for the youth of this country is Rs 1.4 lakh crore. But you are writing off loans worth Rs 16 lakh crore for Adani ji and Ambani ji. The farmers get nothing, the poor get nothing, and the students get nothing," Priyanka Gandhi said.

In a dramatic turn of events, opposition leaders, including Congress's Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Samajwadi Party's (SP) Akhilesh Yadav, were forcibly removed by police on Tuesday after they staged a dharna outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence here, demanding his resignation.

The surprise sit-in in the high-security zone sent the government into a tizzy, prompting it to rush Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh, along with Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, to persuade the opposition leaders to vacate the sensitive site.

Gandhi's discussion with the minister lasted a few minutes, after which Singh and the home secretary left as the talks remained inconclusive.

Soon after Singh left the protest site, police forcibly removed and detained Gandhi and other leaders in the evening.

Rahul Gandhi was taken to the Chhatrasal stadium in Model Town after his detention, but was released a few hours later. Priyanka Gandhi and some other MPs were taken to the Mandir Marg police station, where Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi visited them.

They were released after a few hours. Some other MPs and leaders were taken to the Kingsway Camp police station and released later.

After his release, Rahul Gandhi said in a video that once it was clear that the government had no intentions of scheduling a debate on the students' issue, they decided to hold the sit-in outside the prime minister's residence.

"The idea was to protest outside the prime minister's residence in order to bring to national attention the issues related to students, the way they were attacked by the Delhi Police on Monday, issues which are of utmost importance to the country.

"The students are demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and (Home Minister) Amit Shah, action against those who have humiliated them and beaten them up and the withdrawal of cases against them," the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

He asserted that the entire opposition believes that this is the biggest issue confronting the country today, so it should be debated in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, and "we should be allowed to speak". PTI