Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday agreed to Opposition demand to debate over the ongoing Jawaharlal Nehru University issue, as well as the matter of University of Hyderabad Dalit student Rohith Vemula’s suicide. It is believed that the subjects will be discussed before the general and railway budgets are brought up for deliberation during the Budget Session, which is due to begin on Tuesday. Modi said he wants the “entire nation to hear the debate”.

The decision for a debate on the JNU controversy was made at an all-party meeting convened by Vice President and Chairman of Rajya Sabha Hamid Ansari. At the meeting, Opposition leader Ghulam Nabi Azad sought a debate on the subjects, as well as on the government’s stand on ending the minority status of Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia. While leader of House Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government was open to discussing all issues, he urged the Opposition to help pass urgent Bills besides the budget in the first part of the Budget Session.

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The controversy of the arrest of JNU Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumar continued, with The Hindu reporting that police prevented a clash between members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and students protesting outside Delhi University’s Arts Faculty on Saturday. They protesting students demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Kumar and wanted all charges of sedition against him and other JNU students to be dropped.

On Friday, the Supreme Court had agreed to hear a plea asking for contempt charges to be levelled against Kumar, absconding student activist Umar Khalid, former Delhi University professor SAR Geelani and four others. According to the plea, Kumar and the others distributed pamphlets that claimed Parliament attacks convict Afzal Guru’s death was a judicial killing, even though he was convicted by both the High Court and Supreme Court.