'No Innocent Student Will Be Harassed,' Says Rajnath Singh In Parliament

He also applauded the speech of education minister Smriti Irani, who spoke before him, saying it was "an eye opener not just for Parliament but for the country."

Choking with emotion, Ms Irani tore into the opposition which has attacked her over Rohith Vemula's suicide alleging her ministry pressured his university to punish the Dalit scholar days before he killed himself. "I will not apologise for doing my duty," she said, adding her ministry had acted on communications from a lawmaker, which must be attended to promptly.

A furious Ms Irani accused the opposition of using Rohith's death as a "political tool" and said, "Don't turn education a political battleground. Don't use our children as vote banks."  

The minister also attacked Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for supporting protests against students of the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University or JNU being charged with sedition for an event where anti-India slogans were raised. "Have you ever seen Rahul Gandhi go to one spot twice? Never. But in this, he saw political opportunity," Ms Irani said.

Outside Parliament, BJP chief Amit Shah said at a rally, "the Congress Vice President should tell the people whether he supports the raising of anti-national slogans and if not he should condemn it."

Rahul Gandhi, a Lok Sabha member, did not speak in the debate. But he was seen thumping his desk as his party's lawmakers attacked the government, accusing it of suppressing the voice of students.

The Congress vice president had said in the morning, "I will speak, but they will not let me speak. Because they are scared of what I will say."

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day without a debate being held as BSP lawmakers shouted slogans, trooped into the well of the House and forced repeated adjournments, attacking Ms Irani and the Modi government over the Rohith Vemula suicide.

The government offered to suspend all business and take up the scheduled discussion immediately, but the BSP did not relent, blowing a gaping hole in the agreement between the government and the opposition on ensuring a "disruption-free session.

At a meeting before the session began the Congress-led Opposition said Parliament would function if the government agreed to debate key issues before important legislative work like bringing the Goods and Services Tax bill.