Author: aitc

Sir, I thank my party for this opportunity and also to the Chair. The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025 is a consolidation of the laws that impact the passport, visas, foreigners, etc. But there is some confusion in the narrative of the Government, if I may say so. If it is a mere consolidation, then, they should not thump their chest about the paradigm shift that they claim they are bringing through this Bill. And, if they do feel it is a paradigm shift, कि यह देश धर्मशाला नहीं है, जो कहा जा रहा है, अगर आप उस पर विश्वास रखते कि आप बहुत बड़ा और ठोस कदम उठा रहे हैं, if it is a huge policy push, then, we have every reason, as Parliamentarians, to ask this Bill be sent for legislative scrutiny to Committee. Sir, let me start by saying that this Bill is repealing four Acts which are the areas of law! It is illegal migration, citizenship, deportation, detention camp, borders, de-voters, Aadhaar Card, all of which are Central subjects governed under various subordinate legislations under these four Acts. This was a Bill that should have gone to some committee for scrutiny, and to make it look like a consolidation exercise is a disservice to parliamentary democracy. I lodge a strong protest from All India Trinamool Congress here. सर, इनको जब भी मौका मिलता है, ये पश्चिमी बंगाल की बात करते हैं कि पश्चिमी बंगाल का बॉर्डर porous है, पश्चिमी बंगाल में जमीन नहीं मिलती। इस देश में अगर ऐसा कोई राज्य है, if there is any State in this country in which the issue of migration, the issue of citizenship, the issue of foreigners, the issue of pushback, the issue of international border is a burning issue, it is Assam. And, let me say that Assam is a State with
‘double-engine’ sarkar. It is a double-engine sarkar. This Government came to power in the Center in 2014. The way they have played politically, जिस तरह से राजनीतिकरण हुआ of immigration and of citizenship, Assam is a laboratory for their twisted ideology. Sir, on 31st July, when the final list of
NRC came up, the hon. Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah, over here, had told to this side of the House, the Opposition, कि आप लोगों को Assam Accord की आत्मा के बारे में नहीं मालूम। सर, अगर Assam Accord की धज्जियाँ किसी ने उड़ाई है, तो भारतीय जनता पार्टी ने उड़ाई है। सर, जो मार्च, 1971 की cut-off date थी, इन्होंने बदली, ये CAA लाए और हिन्दुओं को कहा कि हम आपको citizenship देंगे। सर, CAA आने के बाद आज तक barely 350 people have been given citizenship under the CAA…. When the entire nation was saying that
CAA is unconstitutional, it violates the Right to Equality. Sir, now, I come to NRC. NRC में जब पहला draft लिखा गया, at that point of time, 40 lakh people were outside the NRC and the hon. Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah, said, हमने 40 लाख घुसपैठियों को निकाला। When the final list came out, this number of 40 lakhs came down to 19 lakhs. That is the one single reason that after spending Rs.
1,800 crores of public funding, 6 साल बीत गए, NRC का कुछ पता ही नहीं है। Sir, the people ran from pillar to post, sold their house, sold their vehicles to show papers under NRC in Assam. Today, they do not
know whether they are citizens of this country or not. Till today, the Registrar General of India has not notified the NRC after spending Rs. 1,800 crores. And what have they done? ये आधार कार्ड की बात करते हैं। The NRC that has not been notified on that pretext, for more than two years, this
Government stopped the *Aadhaar* Cards of 26 lakh people in Assam. They could not get jobs and they could not apply for any of the Government benefits till the Supreme Court intervenes. Last, but not the least, आप illegal migration की बात करते हैं। मैं आज गृह मंत्री जी से पूछती हूँ, आप अपने जवाब में बताइएगा कि 1997 से असम में जो ‘D-voter’, ‘D-voter’ चल रहा है, तो यह ‘D-voter’ क्या है, यह बताइएगा। मैं यह भी कह दूँ कि in the Assembly, the Government of Assam has given a data that 1,19,570 people have been declared D-voters. 54,411 is the number of people that have been declared foreigners. आप तैयार रहिए, जो national integrity की बात करते हैं, जो internal security की बात करते हैं, only 26 have been deported since 2017. जब-जब आप लोग बंगाल का नाम लेते हैं, मैं   इनको याद दिला दूँ कि आप ममता बनर्जी जी की हिस्ट्री पढ़ कर आइए। क्या आप लोग जानते हैं कि 21 जुलाई, 1993, जिसे आज तक All India Trinamool Congress धरमतला में celebrate करती रही है, उसका क्या इतिहास है? वह पढ़ कर आइए। … ममता दीदी ने voter list के लिए क्या आंदोलन किया था, उसमें कितने लोग शहीद हुए थे, वह पढ़ने के बाद, हमारी नेता ममता दीदी के बारे में बोलिए।Sir, this Government has not just This Government has not just * the Bengali Hindus of Assam, this Government has * the indigenous people of Assamthe Assamese Hindus of Assam.. Sir, I just need one more minute, And I challenge the Home Minister कि आप NRC notify करिए और फिर उसके बाद पार्लियामेंट में हमें भाषण दीजिए। Sir, they have consistently used the issue of citizenship. They have consistently used the issue of NRC. They have consistently used the issue of immigration, time and
again, for polarisation and dividing the society… झारखंड की जनता ने आप लोगों को इसका मुंहतोड़ जवाब दिया। आप ‘घुसपैठिए’, ‘घुसपैठिए’ बोलते रहे और वहाँ मुँह की खा कर आए। Do not divide the society. Do not polarise the society.… We all love our country and we all want our borders to be safe, but do not polarise the nation. Thank you, Sir.

Sir, it is under Rule 29 which relates to List of Business. Sir, the List of Business has been circulated. We
have two days of the Session left. The BAC has allocated three hours for the Statutory Resolution on the Proclamation of President’s Rule in Manipur and eight hours for the Waqf Bill. Sir, we do not know from the List of Business when the Manipur issue is going to be taken up. It is a very sensitive issue. This is number one. Give me just 30 seconds, Sir. Secondly, Sir, we have also been assured.. Sir, give me 10 seconds to finish my point of order. Let me say this so that you can give your ruling. I will take 10 more seconds, Sir. Also, we have been assured by the Government about a Short Duration Discussion on the duplicate EPI Card matter. We only have two days left in the Session, Sir. We would like to be enlightened on when it will be taken up.

Thank you, Sir, for having given me the opportunity. Sir, pensioners have served the country with dedication and denying them fair and timely pensions is unjustified. The Supreme Court has repeatedly stated that the right to receive pension is equivalent to right to property under the Constitution. I quote: “Pension is neither a bounty nor a matter of grace.” It is a social welfare measure rendering socio-economic justice to those who in the heydays of their life ceaselessly toiled for the employer on an assurance that in their old age they would not be left in the lurch. Sir, the recent amendments to the Central Civil Service (Pension) Rules have given rise to some concern and I demand that the Government relooks at it. Sir, the concern is spreading fast among the State Government employees as well as the Central Government employees. The changes suggest that pensioners who retire before January 2026 may be deprived of the benefit of the Eighth Pay Commission creating an unfair distinction between retirees. This is unjust, Sir. The Employees’ Associations and Unions have strongly criticized this. According to the changes to the Civil Service (Pension) Rules, the Government has given itself a power to classify pensioners at its discretion. Such arbitrary policy-making violates the principles of fairness and transparency. Sir, as a good example, I look at the Seventh Pay Commission implemented in 2016, which ensured that pensioners, whether retired before or after 2016, received equal pensions. The principle of no discrimination between old and new pensioners has been repeatedly upheld by the Supreme Court. The Government is now attempting to reverse this. Sir, according to Government data, by 1st March 2025, nearly 36.57 lakh Government employees and 33.91 lakh pensioners will be affected by these changes. The Central Government employees and pensioners are expecting a salary and a pension hike under the Eighth Pay Commission, which is also likely to be delayed. Reports suggest that the Government has also given itself the power to decide when to implement the Pay Commission’s recommendation and who should qualify for pension benefits, leaving lakhs of pensioners in a state of uncertainty. These pensioners have served the country with dedication and denying or delaying their fair pension is unjustified. Therefore, I urge the Government to ensure that all pensioners, no matter when they retire, receive their rightful benefits and enjoy parity under the Pay Commission. Thank you, Sir.

Sir, it is under Rule 239. The hon. Minister is misleading the House. .. As far as West Bengal is concerned, the land procurement…

Sir, speaking on behalf of the All Indian Trinamool Congress on the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, the first that I would like to state is that this Bill requires elaborate parliamentary deliberations and without such detailed deliberations, it would not be prudent for the Bill to be passed. Sir, in the Immigration and Foreigners Bill that is being deliberated upon today, we can see a trend of excessive centralisation of power and the purpose behind this is to single out critics of all sorts. We believe that this Bill could be misused fortargeting critics. Also, the question of violation of international human rights also arises here. There is also a need for discussion as to how this Bill would determine the subtle difference between an intruder and a refugee who is seeking refuge fearing for his life and for whom returning back possess a significant threat to his life. Questions have also arisen as to how this Bill would harmonize with the provisions contained in the Refugee Convention of the United Nations as it concerns the rights of those refugees, who faces the threats of being attacked upon, whose lives would be at risk if they are forced to return back. Further concerns have arisen as we have seen in the last couple of years multiple incidents of cancellations of visas. Whose visas are being cancelled? Of those who are criticising the Government. Visas are being cancelled for OCI card holders. The visas and OCI cards have been turned into a political weapon against the critics. These are not being cancelled on some legal grounds. These are being cancelled owing to the Government’s apathy to any kind of criticism. The critics would not be allowed to enter. It can also be seen that different foreign journalists who otherwise have problems with the Central Government, their visas too are being cancelled. Now, I would like to ask the Government through you that supposing in Bangladesh, a student studying in the Dhaka university while sitting at the Madhur’s canteen decides that he wants to come to India to do his research on the ‘Kanyashree’ scheme introduced by Ms. Mamata Banerjee, while the United Nations too has recognised this scheme and has termed it as a model for the world. Mrs. Sagarika Ghosh, the Deputy Leader of our party in the Rajya Sabha who is sitting here, many got irked as soon as she mentioned the name of Pandit Nehru yesterday. Now, I would like to state that there is a famous picture where Pandit Nehru could be seen sitting at the feet of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. Now, I want to state that I am a son of a refugee family. I am a third generation refugee. I am the proud son of a refugee family. I am a third generation refugee. I consider my refugee ancestors as one of the greatest badges of my honour. To give uniformity to the jurisdiction across the States, you cannot straight-jacket this country. This transnational migration, people have been forced to migrate. The year 1947 witnessed that largest migration in the world. If someone wants to come to do research on the matter, a question is coming up as to whether that person would be granted a student visa. What is more important is that, suppose, like I was saying that Pandit Nehru, the reason for which the issue of Pandit Nehru came up, I would like to say in this regard, especially we are witnessing that this Bill which the Government wants to pass bypassing any parliamentary deliberations. We have seen that it is being discussed inside the parliament that 24 parganas districts of West Bengal, there are two 24 parganas – North 24 parganas and South 24 parganas, it is being insinuated that incursions are happening from those districts and the intruders are obtaining Aadhar and Voter ID card from there. Now, I was not aware, Sir, that Aadhar comes under the control of Ms. Mamata Banerjee. I was completely unaware about it. UIDAI authority, a statutory authority, regulates Aadhar. It is unfathomable as to how West Bengal comes into the scene. Election Commission is an autonomous, constitutional body. This EPIC and Voter ID card issue pertaining to this autonomous and constitutional body, which has now become a contentious one, our leader and hon. Chief Minister of West Bengal Ms. Mamata Bandyopadhyay, on the 27th February had raised the matter in Kolkata. The issue of duplicate EPIC cards meant for doing fraudulent activities in elections has now come to the fore in front of the nation. Many names from the States of Gujarat and Haryana have been included in the EPIC card numbers for West Bengal. Will these people from Gujarat and Haryana come to West Bengal with their Bengal voter cards to cast their vote? We categorically state that it is the responsibility of the Election Commission of India to conduct free and fair elections. What has happened in Maharashtra and Delhi won’t be repeated in West Bengal as Mamata Bandyopadhyay is our leader’s name, Abhishek Bandyopadhyay is our leader’s name. We won’t let this happen in Bengal. I would like to state here that the hon. Chief Minister of West Bengal has mentioned that the Association of Billion Minds, whose name has now been altered to Nation with NaMo, this organization is sending people over to West Bengal through another such group which is India 360’s subsidiary. They are eyeing to control the electoral outcome in West Bengal by pushing in outsiders. This will not be allowed to happen. You will not succeed in this effort. We want to mention here that West Bengal is having the longest international border. It shares border with three neighbouring countries. In 2021, all of a sudden, the area of operation of BSF was increased to 50 kilometre inside our border compared to the earlier limit of 15 kilometre to our surprise. The rationale given for such a step was to give uniformity in jurisdiction across the States. You cannot straight jacket this country. Unity in diversity – different languages, different attires, different food habits, “Different languages, different opinions, different attires, Yet amidst this diversity, behold the great unity”- this is our tradition. You cannot straight jacket although you may try to do so. You will never able to impose one nation, one vote, one language and one leader on us. Recall that Pandit Nehru was sitting at the feet of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, who was mentioning to him about the ‘Indian pilgrimage’. ‘Indian pilgrimage’ is a famous poem which I would not recite in its entirety. Gurudev Tagore had shown the way to Pandit Nehru, the then future Prime Minister of this country. “Singing victory songs with the fervor of battle cries, Piercing through desert paths and mountain ranges, Those who came, all of them, Reside within me, none are far away, In my blood echoes the varied tunes of their voices.” “Here, one day, in ceaseless rhythm, A great Omkar resounded. In the heart’s chords, with the mantra of One, A war cry arose, unbounded. Through penance’s fire, in the One’s pyre, The many were sacrificed whole. Division faded, awakening created A vast and unified soul.” “Will the unbearable pain ever end, Giving birth to a mighty soul? The night fades, the mother awakens In her vast nest, On the ocean shores of India’s great being.” Lastly, I would like to state that pluralism and federal structure are our strength. The State of West Bengal was not consulted while drafting this Bill. A minimum respect should to be accorded to pluralism and federal structure. Let this Bill be sent to a select committee for a detailed deliberation. “In the rhythm of Odissi, in the gestures of Bharatanatyam, In the beats of the Santhali drum and the fervor of Bhangra, The night of a grand festival will awaken. On that night, On that starry, bursting Mehfil of a night, Do not forget me— The one with torn hands, an empty stomach, an uprooted heart, With drops of tears, blood, and sweat, Miles and miles of sorrow and love— A name whispered in pain and pride: Motherland, Freedom, India.” Thank You Sir. Jai Hind! Jai Bangla!”

Sir, the Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, is one of the most important social security schemes for the benefit of the working people of our country. This Act provides for the institution of provident funds, pension funds and deposit-linked insurance funds for employees in factories and other establishments. Provident Fund is a Central Government-managed retirement savings scheme where both employees and employers contribute a portion of the employee’s salary to create a fund for retirement or emergencies, managed by organisations like the Employees Provident Fund Organisation. Sir, unfortunately enough, defaults under the EPFO has reached a record high of almost Rs. 26,000 crore at the end of 2023-24, marking an increase of 69.3 per cent from Rs. 15,254 crore the previous year, according to official data. The private sector’s default on provident fund deposits with EPFO has been constantly on the rise in the last five years in an alarming rate. In the private sector particularly, a large number of employers not only are not depositing their contributions but are also not depositing the contribution of the employee which the employers are deducting from salaries. This is a dangerous and alarming trend. In order to ensure stringent measures against the PF defaulters, the concerned State Government must have the concrete PF data from the PF offices which are not happening in reality. The Labour Department of the Government of West Bengal has been repeatedly requesting the Additional Central PF Commissioner, in-charge of West Bengal, Sikkim and Andaman & Nicobar Islands to share the list of defaulters of jute mills since 2024. The concerned Additional Central PF Commissioner has not bothered to give any details till date. There was a written complaint to the Labour Minister, West Bengal against a private contractor agency, working at Haldia Dock Complex, by nearly 1,000 contractual employees of Haldia port regarding huge PF default. The Labour Department has been sending formal letters to the same Additional Central PF Commissioner since August 2023 but till date no concrete reply has been received. Naturally, a suspicion of an unholy nexus between the said office and the contractor arises. The question is whether this particular office situated in DK Block, Sector II, Salt Lake, West Bengal, is trying to protect that particular PF defaulter at any cost. Similarly, since 2024, the West Bengal Labour Department has been writing to the Regional Provident Fund Commissioners of Jalpaiguri, Siliguri and Darjeeling requesting for the garden-wise PF dues under their jurisdiction. Unfortunately enough, no concrete reply has been received from them. In order to ensure stringent action against PF defaulters, through you, I would request you…

Sir, let us all welcome the safe return of Crew-9 to Earth after 286 days. They landed back on Earth on March 18th. Let me quote what the hon. C.M., Ms. Mamata Banerjee, said. I quote, “Welcome Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore back to Earth, finally and safely after so many days. Our daughter of India returns to us and we are deeply, deeply happy and elated. We are profoundly happy for Butch Wilmore also. Hail their courage, hail their return, hail human glory! I congratulate the rescue team for their overwhelming support and success.” A few days after she made this statement, the hon. Chief Minister of West Bengal spoke at the State Assembly where she demanded that Sunita Williams should be conferred with the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award. This would be a fitting tribute to her remarkable achievement. Looking at India from space, Sunita Williams highlighted the Himalayas’ ripple effect, the fishing fleet near Mumbai and Gujarat and the network of lights visible across the country. The achievement of Sunita Williams would also make ISRO proud, which was established in 1969. Yes; Great institutions were built before 2014. The success of Sunita Williams has always been celebrated in India. Giving her Bharat Ratna would be the ultimate celebration. Sir, let me remind my fellow Parliamentarians that Sunita Williams was honoured on her visit to India in 2007. Among the many accolades she received, she was also conferred Padma Bhushan. I do recall the words of Sunita Williams, and, I quote, “There is one lady, I admire a lot.” In fact, that lady is now with us in Rajya Sabha. Sunita Williams was referring to Shrimati Sonia Gandhi. Despite all accolades showered on Sunita Williams from across the world and the UPA Government in Delhi, *. A few days ago, she has expressed her desire to visit her father’s home country and their ancestral village. She comes from Mehsana District, the same District where hon. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, hails from. Let me ask you: Now, in 2025, we demand Bharat Ratna for a super achiever with strong Indian and Gujarati roots.

Sir, a crucial factor that determines the demand for any currency is the demand among foreigners for the goods and assets of the country. Since foreigners will first have to purchase the local currency before they can purchase goods and assets, high demand for a country’s goods and assets translates to high demand for its currency. Between January, 2023 and March, 2024, Foreign Portfolio Investors pulled out nearly 15 billion dollars from Indian equity markets, leading to a significant pressure on rupee. Sir, through you, I want to know from the Government: Can the Government provide a detailed break-up of sectorwise Foreign Portfolio Investors’ outflows and their correlation with the depreciation of our rupee? Sir, the RBI has been using its dollar reserves to prop up the value of the rupee by artificially increasing the supply of dollars in foreign exchange market. Sir, India’s Current Account Deficit, widened to 1.2 per cent of our GDP in quarter three of financial year 2024- 25. Through you, Sir, I want to know from the Government: What policy measures has the Government explored to stabilize our currency?

Sir, I have point of order under rule… Thank you, Sir, for appreciation. I have a point of order under Rule 267. For discussion on duplicate EPIC, four of us, on behalf of All India Trinamool Congress, had given notices under Rule 267 on last Friday. You had said that you would give your ruling. But, no ruling was given. Sir, notices under Rule 267 were not called out on Friday. So, I am humbly requesting your ruling of Friday. Thank you.