July 1, 2024
Pratima Mondal’s speech during the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address in Lok Sabha
Hon. Chairperson, Sir, on behalf of the All India Trinamool Congress Party, I rise to speak on the Motion of Thanks on the Presidential Address. I would like to address all of you and the entire nation by pointing out how Prime Minister Modi ji envisions to rule for the third term. If the oath-taking ceremony is observed closely, you will see that the Members of the Opposition Parties and Members of the Government-forming Parties have been given two separate stages for oath taking. It is absolutely shambolic that even before the start of his third term, he has divided the House. He has no intention of running the Government by cooperating with the weak or respecting the opposition. Wake up dear Indians! These are the signs of a dictator. He will again set out on his mission to brainwash you and divide our country on his patented formula of M = Mutton, Mughal, Mandir, Masjid, Mangalsutra, Mujra. Please forgive me if I missed out any. Hon. Chairperson, Sir, I would like to quote Swami Vivekananda who eloquently said: “I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal tolerance, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth.” This is the beauty of Indian culture Regrettably, in recent years, our country has witnessed a troubling division under the leadership of BJP which has chosen to divide our nation along religious lines, tarnishing our standing in the global community. Perhaps, this is the reason why BJP has not secured the magic figure of 272 seats alone in this General Election. And to add insult to injury, BJP lost Ayodhya despite vigorous campaign by heavy-weight leaders like Prime Minister Modi ji and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ji with their self-made slogan, ‘जो राम को िाए हैं, हम उनको िाएगं े।’ This proves that Indians cannot be fooled by your divisive and hateful politics based on religion. For these, I thank the people of India who have shown resilience against such divisive politics safeguarding our constitutional values and democratic ideas amidst challenging times. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that India remains a beacon of tolerance, unity, and progress for all its citizens. Hon. Chairperson, Sir, during the election campaign, the hon. Minister Shah ji said, ‘भारतीय जनता पािी की सरकार बनेगी तो यह गैर संवैिालनक एससी, एसिी और ओबीसी के ररजवेशन’ को हम समाप्त करगेंे’। These comments exposed their true intention, disregarding the fundamental rights to education; to employment; to participate in governing our country, guaranteed by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the father of our Constitution. Even the highest constitutional dignitaries like President Shrimati Droupadi Murmu and former President Shri Ram Nath Kovind have faced disrespect being excluded from significant national events. The BJP, only to get the support and vote from the SC/ST communities, offered the President’s post first to Shri Ram Nath Kovind and then to Droupadi Murmu ji, but they were not invited to the consecration ceremony of Ram Lala Temple and the inauguration of this Parliament Building. Hon. Chairperson, Sir, BJP’s track record in promoting women empowerment is dismal, with a mere 16 per cent women candidates nominated in the General Elections. I would like to take the opportunity to mention here that our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has nominated 38 per cent women candidates in this general election. Furthermore Sir, their policies and rhetoric have filled hate crimes and atrocities against marginalized communities, including the tragic incidents involving Rohit Vemula, the Una carcasses disposal incidents in Gujarat and the sexual assault of Tribal women in Manipur, Kathua, Hathras and Unnao and the unimaginable bail granted to the criminals in the Bilkis Bano case but what else can we expect from a Government that gives tickets to family members of sexual offenders like … who later turned out to be a murderer of children? What else can we expect from a Government that nominates a Woman and Child Development Minister who cannot even write ‘बेिी बचाओ, बेिी पढ़ाओ’ in her own mother tongue? Sir, in the recent election, BJP attempted to instill fear and division by threatening to revoke constitutional protection for SC, ST and OBC communities and implementing discriminatory Acts like CAA and NRC. The outcome of this election has shown that such fear-mongering tactics do not resonate with the electorate which is why you had to form a coalition Government. Sir, I wish to draw attention to an analogy, a newspaper headline of 16th May, 2021 ‘Indira Gandhi asking astronaut Rakesh Sharma, how India looked from space’ to which he replied ‘सारेजहाुँसेअच्िा’ but today, if someone asks, ‘how does India look from the perch Modi ji, perhaps you can recall Gandhari’s lament in Kurukshetra, everywhere I look, in all the directions, countless bodies lying in abundance’. I would like to ask the hon. Prime Minister Modi Ji what would you have done if someone had denied you the last rite of your mother and instead asked you to bang utensils. Sorry, I forgot that you have disregarded your birth mother by claiming yourself to be supernatural. Covid did claim the lives of many but your hands are gushing red too. You might have forgotten about the countless lives lost a few years ago with dead bodies all over India. You might have forgotten about the poor helpless migrants who were unable to return to their home because of your unplanned hasty decision of lockdown but I have not and neither have our people. Although I do not expect anything other than hate politics from you, I hope you will take away some lessons from your defeat in this election and work on real challenges our country is facing in the next five years like increasing poverty, unemployment, insecurity, water scarcity, climate change and so on. Sir, I would like to conclude by mentioning one thing that it is indeed a strange and unpleasant coincidence that as the nation celebrates Doctors’ Day on 1 st July, to honour the birth and death anniversary of the renowned Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy who was the former Chief Minister of Government of West Bengal, we are also witnessing one of the biggest scams in the form of NEET exams which is incidentally the entrance examination to medical studies across the country. The impact of this scam has been so severe that even the NEET exam for admission to post graduate students have been suspended. I would like to request the Government to allow the discussion on NEET and pay true respect to Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy. Thank you, Sir.
