June 26, 2024
Sudip Bandyopadhyay welcomes Speaker Om Birla
Sir, I congratulate you on your becoming Speaker of the House for the second time. My first entry in this Parliament was in the 12th Lok Sabha. I have gathered a long experience. What my impression is, if there is no Leader of the Opposition officially the House does not run properly. We are glad that our country has now got a Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament. Sir, the parliamentary democratic system, upon which we are the firm believers, depends upon secularism, communal harmony and unity of the country. It is my firm belief that somehow the floor of the House always depends on the attitude of the Treasury Benches. So far as the parliamentary democratic process is concerned, the House belongs to the Opposition. This attitude is to be adopted by the ruling party itself. Sir, you may have your good wishes and your good intention. But sometimes, you are to bow down to the ruling party’s pressure. My experience says this. Suspension of 150 MPs in one day has happened in this House. It is not desirable. The hon. Prime Minister has mentioned about the introduction and passing of so many Bills in the House. We appreciate that. But it has also happened that so many Bills had been passed without any discussion. I would humbly submit to you that let some positive decisions be taken so that the Bills be tabled and discussed in a proper manner. We, from the Opposition side, assure you that we will extend all sorts of cooperation so that the House can run properly and smoothly. The Opposition has now got a better strength in this House. So, it should not be the attitude of the Treasury Benches to neglect the Opposition. I would request the hon. Prime Minister and the Treasury Benches to come up and cooperate so that the House runs smoothly and the country of 140 crores of people can actually get some guidance and some hopes that Parliament can contribute for the welfare and benefit of the country. This should be our motto. We want to see that the 18th Lok Sabha runs smoothly and creates a history of reaching its target by running smoothly in the interest of the nation while keeping secularism and communal harmony intact. Our Constitution should be upheld and the situation should never ever be allowed to be disturbed. Thank you, Sir.
