July 19, 2017
Centre did not get a mandate for political, financial and social terrorism: Trinamool in Rajya Sabha
Leader of the AITC Parliamentary Party in Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien today cornered the Centre over the increased crimes against the marginalised in the country. Speaking during a Short Duration Discussion, he questioned whether this Government had got the mandate to unleash political, financial and social terrorism.
Quoting figures, Derek said that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Bengal Finance Minister Dr Amit Mitra had rightly predicted that GDP will be down by 2% as a fallout of demonetisation. He also cited the precarious situation farmers are in, highlighting the adverse effects of demonetisation.
“25 crore daily wage workers lost employment, 35% of jobs have been lost in MSME sector, and there is a 50% dip in revenue. Leather industry in West Bengal has collapsed. Auto sales are at a 16-year low. There has been a 40% drop in FMCG sales. Second hand car sales became zero. 12 lakh powerlooms in Maharashtra have been closed,” he said.
Derek O’Brien accused the Central Government of manipulating data to paint a rosy picture about the economy.
He also took the Government to task over rushing GST implementation. While the BJP was now trying to take credit for GST with ‘midnight reality shows’, they had stalled it for several years. Trinamool has consistently supported GST, but is against the hurried implementation, he maintained.
Derek accused the BJP of spearheading digital terrorism and turning Facebook into Fakebook. Citing the example of Basirhat, he said the troll armies of BJP posted fake pictures from Bangladesh – and even Bhojpuri films – to incite communal tension.
He slammed the Government for denying children mid-day meals for not having Aadhaar cards. He called it ‘child terrorism’. He also said that the Centre was using agencies to hound and harass anyone who speaks against it. He called this ‘political terrorism’.
Derek objected to the term cow vigilantism. “The real term is cow terrorism. Vigilantism implies that the victims of the lynchings were criminal, while in most cases there was no such proof. This is not Gau-raksha but Gau-atank,” he said.
He also reminded the august House that when it comes to development and communal harmony, Bengal was a model to emulate.
