May 5, 2015
Trinamool raises the issue of Net Neutrality in Rajya Sabha
Leader of All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party in the Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien called the attention of the Union Minister for Communications and IT in the House on the issue of Net Neutrality.
Trinamool had pledged support to the issue of net neutrality in the month of April. The party took up the issue in Rajya Sabha during Zero Hour last week. Today’s Calling Attention Motion received support from all political parties.
He explained the complicated subject of Net Neutrality with the example of electricity supplier charging separately for various home appliances. Although he thanked the Minister for sharing the optimism, Derek mentioned that the government has continued with the jargon throughout their statement.
He also stated that the consultation paper of TRAI was blatantly in favour of telecom companies. He also upheld the concerted effort of the netizens where 10 lakh emails were sent to TRAI on the issue.
Derek also urged the government to make their stand clear on the issue of Net Neutrality on the floor of the House after consultation with everyone including the users on social media. He also demanded that the government must give an assurance to the House that no action will be taken, TRAI or otherwise, without taking the Parliament into confidence.
Click here for the full transcript of his speech
Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Gupta also spoke on the issue during the Calling Attention Motion. He said that the government itself is a beneficiary as it gets a part of the revenue from telecom companies. How will a level playing field be created for the small startups against the big giants if there is not net neutrality, he pondered. “Why is the TRAI over-enthusiastic in releasing the 10 lakh email IDs,” he asked.
