Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane on Wednesday criticised the violent protest outside Parliament, saying that this should not be the norm.

Protesting students clashed with police outside the gates of Parliament, where Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was delivering his medium-term budget policy statement speech, with members of the public order policing unit using stun grenades and shooting rubber bullets to disperse them.

The DA Students Organisation had earlier organised a peaceful protest to Parliament to raise their grievances with Gordhan.

Maimane said government had failed to adequately respond to the demands of students, but had rather responded with force.

“We have a government that has failed to response to the needs of our people. This cannot be the culture we live on going forward,” Maimane said

“The right to protest is enshrined in the Constitution but also, not all demonstrations must end with a violent confrontation with the police.”

Maimane also praised Gordhan’s mini-budget, saying that it contained some DA proposals, including allocating a progressive increase to the higher education budget. He added his party would be lobbying for more interventions in this sector.