Sajda Ahmed’s Special Mention (Rule 377) on the need to expedite the construction of a railway track connecting Shyampur and Bagnan in her Uluberia constituency

I would like to draw the kind attention of the Government towards a long-pending demand of the people of my Parliamentary Constituency, which pertains to the Ministry of Railways. The proposal for a new railway line from Shyampur to Bagnan has been pending for a significant period, despite a survey conducted by the previous Government. I have raised this issue several times in the Parliament, yet no action has been taken by the current government. Shyampur, located in the territorial area of my constituency, currently relies solely on road connectivity. Residents are forced to travel 40 to 50 kilometres to reach the nearest railway station, causing considerable hardship. Moreover, the region includes notable tourist spots such as Gadiara and Garchumuk which would greatly benefit from improved railway access. The establishment of this railway line would not only alleviate the daily struggles of the local population but also promote tourism in the area, thereby contributing to the region’s economic development. I earnestly request the Government to prioritize this issue and expedite necessary actions for the completion of the Shyampur to Bagnan railway line.

Jagadish Chandra Basunia’s Zero Hour mention demanding the bettering of railway infrastructure in Cooch Behar and ensuring another railway connection between his constituency and Kolkata

Honourable Chairperson, through you I would like to raise a matter before the Honourable Railway Minister. Our Cooch Behar is the deemed as the city of kings. New Coochbehar Railway Station is operational in the service of the commuters. The rail line that connects New Coochbehar Railway Station with Alipuraduar- adjacent to the Alipuraduar Main Road has a level crossing where commuters get stuck for many hours. To address this issue, the Railway department had initiated the work to construct a Railway overbridge, but the work has been stalled for a long time. If the Railway Ministry informs us why the work has been stalled and can take measures to escalate the work, that would suffice. I am making this appeal to the Honourable Railway Minister to look into this matter. Secondly, there is a railway line that starts from Coochbehar and goes to Rangpur, Bangladesh via Dinhata and via Bamanhat. After the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, the Rail line has been non-functional and a part of the rail bridge has broken down as well. If the Honourable Railway Minister reconstructs the railway route and if it can be extended to Kolkata via Rangpur, Bangladesh- the distance between Kolkata or Southern India or WesternIndia from the Eastern part of India will be reduced by 300-400 kilometres. Thus, I request the Honourable Railway Minister to conduct an overhaul of the said railway line so that it becomes possible to commute through Bangladesh via Sealdah, Kolkata to Southern and Western parts of India.

Mitali Bag’s Zero Hour mention demanding long-due MGNREGS payments, building of railway stations and bringing down prices of essential goods for Bengal

Greetings, Madam. I thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak. I pay my respects to Shri Shri Ramkrishna, Maa Sarada, Taraknath from Tarakeswar and Ghonteswari. The people from the Arambagh constituency has elected me for the first time and sent me to the Parliament with their blessings. I am a woman from the SC community. My question concerns a very important issue. Since a long time, the hardworking people of West Bengal have worked with their blood and sweat under the 100 days work scheme. Yet the central government has been trying to push them to the brink of starvation. The government should release their due funds immediately. We have faced many questions in this Parliament House, and we have recurrently heard many statements which said that the agricultural sector has improved, the lives of workers have improved, the lives of SC, ST community have improved. But in reality, we, the poor daily wagers are still being deprived. Since you have granted me the permission to speak, I will once again repeat my demand of the reinstatement of the rights of the deprived section of Bengal. At the same time, I will also state that the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Bandyopadhyay when she was the Railway Minister, initiated the Arambag to Bishnupur rail project which has now been stalled. The Lok Sabha constituencies- Arambag and Bishnupur are both tourist attractions, and to help people commute, I demand the reconstruction of Bhabhadighi Railway Station. I reiterate this demand in front of you. Another minor issue- due the rising prices of the essential commodities, those aren’t reaching the kitchens of the people of Bengal. They are in severe distress. If the central government looks into their plight, I would be deeply thankful to them. I am concluding my speech. Many thanks to you for letting me speak.

Saayoni Ghosh’s Zero Hour mention on expediting the Baruipur-Kavi Subhash metro extension

Madam, thank you so much for letting me speak in this august House and I also thank the people of Jadavpur Parliamentary Constituency for electing me as their representative. Madam, metros are the fastest and the most convenient and the cheapest mode of urban commuting and there have been several ongoing projects to extend the Kolkata Metro. However, the Baruipur Kavi Subhash also known as the Garia metro extension was proposed in the Railway Budget of 2011-2012 but there has been no positive movement since then. Baruipur is a fast-developing town which is about 25 kilometres from Kolkata with a growing population of more than five lakh people. Thousands of people utilize the train facility daily to commute for work, for education and other essential activities. Since Kavi Subhash is becoming a key junction for the residents of Baruipur, a metro station is the need of the hour. In 2017, the tentative plan was to build the tracks along the Adi Ganga but nothing has happened since. Despite the completion of the feasibility study for extending Kavi Subhash to Baruipur link as a part of the east-west metro extension, it still awaits approval from the Railway Board. Our leader hon. Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee was repeatedly raising the issue highlighting the ongoing delays by the Railway Ministry. Several letters have been written to the Ministry including letters from the Speaker of West Bengal Legislative Assembly who is also the MLA of Baruipur Paschim for construction of this key metro expansion but to no avail. Madam, I request the Government to expedite the Baruipur Kavi Subhash metro extension proposed for more than 12 years. It is extremely crucial for the people of both rural and urban Baruipur. िोग िाखों की तादाद में कोिकाता आतेहैंइसदिए यह मेट्रो स्टेशन दजतनी जल्दी बनेगा, उतना अच्छा होगा। माननीय सभापदत जी, आपके माध्यम सेमैंयही दरख्िास्त करना चाहती ह ां।

Sukhendu Sekhar Ray’s Special Mention on the repatriation of smuggled Indian antiquities from foreign countries

As per reports published in indianculture.gov.in and various news reports published in national dailies till recently, it appears that many Indian antiquities stolen from different temples and museums across the country were smuggled out from time to time found to be stored in various museums and private galleries/auction centers in foreign countries. However, some of those antiquities started being repatriated to India since past few decades due to bilateral investigations and diplomatic initiatives taken by India and the concerned countries. The Metropolitan Museum of New York alone returned hundreds of such stolen Indian antiquities in 2015-2016. Again in July, 2023, US Metropolitan Museum returned 105 trafficked Indian artefacts. Out of the latest repatriated antiquities, a few date back to 1st century BC to 16th CE and originated from UP, West Bengal, Bihar, South India and other parts of the country. It is not known as to where the repatriated hundreds of antiquities are presently stored in India. I would request the Government to inform about the exact number of antiquities recovered from foreign countries, their places of origin and present places of storage. I would also urge upon the Government to return the recovered antiquities originated from Chandraketugarh and other archaeological sites of West Bengal to the State Archaeological Museum or Indian Museum in Kolkata so that the people of Bengal can have a sight of those invaluable artefacts and feel the pride of the past glories and rich histories of the concerned places.

Saket Gokhale’s supplementary question during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha on the reason(s) for critical mineral blocks not getting auctioned and the remedial measures taken by the government

Sir, she did not submit, I submitted. Sir, the Ministry in the last many months has conducted three rounds of auctions for critical mineral blocks. सर, वेअिभवादन करतेहैं, मैंअपना क्वैश्चन इं�ो�ूस तो क�ँ! In November, 2023, auctions were launched for 20 critical mineral blocks, of these, only 6 blocks have been auctioned because of lack of interest of bidders. In February and March, 2024, in two auctions, 18 critical mineral blocks… ठीक है, सर। 70 सालों मेंकु छ नहीं हुआ था, क्या अब मैंसवाल पूछू ँ? Sir, it is related to critical mineral blocks only. Sir, he is praising the Prime Minister; I do not even get to introduce my question. Sir, if the question is irrelevant, you may dismiss it, but let me finish it at least. No, I want to ask a question, I am not here for praising anybody. I am here to ask a question for the people. My Chief Minister does not need praise here. Sir, I would like to ask specifically and I would like a specific answer. What is the reason for lack of interest from bidders for auctions of critical mineral blocks and what are the steps being taken to encourage interest of bidders for critical mineral blocks which are going unauctioned? In three auctions, there was no interest from bidders. Why is that happening?

বাংলাই দেশের অস্তিত্ব রক্ষা করবে : মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়

লোকসভা ভোটে সাফল্যের পর তৃণমূলের প্রথম বড় কর্মসূচি রবিবার। ধর্মতলার ভিক্টোরিয়া হাউসের সামনে তৃণমূলের ২১ জুলাইয়ের মঞ্চে বক্তব্য মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের :

বাংলায় আসার জন্য অখিলেশকে ধন্যবাদ। দিল্লির সরকার বেশি দিন টিকবে না। উত্তরপ্রদেশে অখিলেশে খেলা দেখিয়েছে। বিজেপির তো সরে যাওয়া উচিত ছিল

নির্বাচন কমিশনের একতরফা আচরণের পরেও লোকসভা নির্বাচনে, বিধানসভা উপনির্বাচনে মানুষ আমাদের পাশে থেকেছেন। এজেন্সির ধমকানি-চমকানির পরেও বিজেপি-কংগ্রেস-সিপিএমের বিরুদ্ধে লড়াই করে জিতে এসেছি, তাতে স্যালুট জানাই বাংলার মানুষকে। যাঁরা আমাদের সমর্থন দেননি, আগামী দিন তাঁদের কাছে সমর্থন আশা করব। সাধারণ মানুষ ছাড়া তৃণমূল পথ চলতে পারে না। আমরা যত জিতব, আমাদের তত নরম হতে হবে। যত জিতব, তত আমাদের দায়িত্ব বাড়বে। উত্তরবঙ্গে আমাদের রেজাল্ট খারাপ হয়েছে, আশা করব ভবিষ্যতে তারা আমাদের সমর্থন করবে

আমরা একমাত্র রাজনৈতিক দল, যারা লোকসভায় ৩৮ শতাংশ নির্বাচিত মহিলা প্রতিনিধি পাঠিয়ে দিয়েছি। তাঁরা আমাদের সম্পদ। একটা পার্টির সম্পদ সবাইকে নিয়ে চলা

আমরা দায়িত্বে আসার আগে দারিদ্রসীমার নীচে ছিলেন ৫৭.৬ শতাংশ মানুষ। আমাদের জমানায় তা ৪০ শতাংশ কমে গিয়েছে।

আমি দলে বিত্তবান লোক চাই না। বিবেকবান লোক চাই। কেন জানেন? পয়সা আসে, চলে যায়। কিন্তু সেবার কোনও বিকল্প নেই

যেন কারও বিরুদ্ধে দল কোনও অভিযোগ না পায়। অভিযোগ পেলে দল উপযুক্ত ব্যবস্থা নেব। আমি চাই আপনারা গরিব থাকুন। তার মানে ঘরে যা আছে, সেটা খেয়ে বেঁচে থাকুন। লোভ করার দরকার নেই

অন্যায় করলে আমি দলের কাউকে ছাড়ি না। গ্রেফতার করি। অন্যায় করবেন না, অন্যায় সহ্য করবেন না। আমি পরিষ্কার বলছি, মা-বোনেদের সম্মান দেবেন

আমরা বাংলার অস্তিত্ব রক্ষা করব। বাংলাই দেশের অস্তিত্ব রক্ষা করবে

বিজেপি আন্দোলনে পারে না। আমার কাছে ১০ লক্ষ সরকারি চাকরি তৈরি আছে। কিন্তু আমি কিছু করতে গেলে আদালতে ছোটে তারা। কখনও বলছে ২৬ হাজারের চাকরি খাই, কখনও বলছে ৪২ হাজারের চাকরি খাই, কখনও বলছে ওবিসি উঠিয়ে দাও। উঠবে না। আমরা আইনি লড়াই করছি, করে যাব

আমরা দুর্নীতির কাছে মাথা নত করব না। এটা আজকে শপথ নিন। আমরা লড়াই করব।’’ তার পরেই তিনি বলেন, ‘‘বৃষ্টি গায়ে লাগল তো? এ তো স্নান করলে ধুয়ে যাবে, কিন্তু নোংরা গায়ে লাগলে সেটা ধোয়া যায় না। কেউ যেন আপনাকে লোভী বানাতে না পারে। আমাদের শপথ নিতে হবে, দুর্নীতির সঙ্গে কোনও আপস নয়। যাঁরা নির্বাচিত হয়ে মানুষের সেবা করবেন না, তাঁদের সঙ্গে কোনও সম্পর্ক রাখব না

তৃণমূল করতে গেলে সকলকে নিয়ে চলতে হবে। যেখানে যেখানে জিতেছেন, সেখানে সেখানে গিয়ে মানুষকে ধন্যবাদ জানাবেন। মানুষের জন্য কাজ করবেন। যেখানে যেখানে আমরা জিতিনি, সেখানকার মানুষের কাছে গিয়ে ক্ষমা চাইবেন। মনে রাখবেন গাড়িতে ঘোরার চেয়ে পায়ে হেঁটে ঘোরা ভাল। তাতে শরীর-মন ভাল থাকে। বড় গাড়িতে ঘোরার থেকে স্কুটার, সাইকেলে ঘোরা ভাল

বাংলাদেশে যদি পড়াশোনার সূত্রে কেউ গিয়ে থাকেন, কেউ যদি চিকিৎসার জন্য গিয়ে আটকে পড়েন, কোনও রকমের সহযোগিতার দরকার হলে আমরা পাশে আছি।’’ তার পরই তিনি বলেন, ‘‘বাংলাদেশ নিয়ে কিছু বলব না, ওটা আলাদা দেশ। যা বলবে, ভারত সরকার বলবে। আমি এটুকু বলতে পারি, যদি অসহায় মানুষ বাংলার দরজায় খটখট করে তবে আমরা আশ্রয় নিশ্চয়ই দেব। রাষ্ট্রপুঞ্জের একটা নির্দেশ আছে, কেউ যদি শরণার্থী হন, তবে তার পাশের এলাকা সম্মান জানাবে। বাংলাদেশ নিয়ে আমরা যেন কোনও প্ররোচনায় পা না-দিই, আমরা যেন উত্তেজনায় না-জড়াই। যারই রক্ত ঝরুক, তাদের সঙ্গে আমাদের সহমর্মিতা আছে। আমরাও খবর রাখছি। ছাত্রছাত্রীদের তাজা প্রাণ চলে যাচ্ছে। আমার কিছু বলার নেই

আমাদের না জানিয়ে ফরাক্কা চুক্তি রিনিউ করা হচ্ছে : মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়

আজ নবান্নে প্রশাসনিক বৈঠক করেন মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়। সেখানে ওনার বক্তব্যের কিছু অংশ

উত্তরবঙ্গে বন্যার আশঙ্কা রয়েছে, আমি রিপোর্ট থেকে দেখেছি। দরকারে যোগাযোগের জন্য নম্বর দেওয়া হল। ভূমিক্ষয়ের সমস্যাও রয়েছে।

গঙ্গার ভাঙন কেন্দ্রের দেখার কথা। ১০-১২ বছর ধরে দেখছে না। ফরাক্কার ড্রেজিং করেনি। বাংলাদেশের সঙ্গে যখন চুক্তি হয়, তখন কথা ছিল, বাংলাদেশে যে জল যাচ্ছে, আমাদের যাতে সমস্যা না হয়, ড্রেজিং করা হবে। ভাঙনে অনেক বাড়ি তলিয়ে গেছে। ৭০০ কোটি টাকার প্যাকেজ তৈরি হয়। আমি এমপি ছিলাম, জানতাম। আজ পর্যন্ত দেয়নি।

আমাদের না জানিয়ে ফরাক্কা চুক্তি রিনিউ করা হচ্ছে। বাংলায় বর্ষা বেশি। নদীমাতৃক দেশ। এখানে নদী, সমুদ্র, পুকুর বেশি। অনেক পুকুর কেটেছি। জল ধরি, ভরি। উপকূলীয় অঞ্চলও রয়েছে। উত্তরবঙ্গ বন্যায় ভাসছে। সিকিমে বৃষ্টি। ধস নেমেছে। পর্যটক আটক। তাঁরা যাতে ফিরে আসতে পারেন, দেখো।বর্ষায় পাহাড়ে অ্যাডভেঞ্চার না করাই ভাল। গরমে যান।

গঙ্গার ভাঙনে যে বাড়ি তলিয়ে গেছে, সেগুলি করে দেওয়া হবে বলে জানিয়েছিল। ৭০০ কোটি টাকা আজ পর্যন্ত দেয়নি। ফরাক্কা চুক্তি রিনিউ হলে বিহারও ভাসবে। মূল পক্ষ আমরা। আমাদের জানানো হল না। বলছে তিস্তার জল দেবে (বাংলাদশকে)। জল রয়েছে যে দেবে? উত্তরবঙ্গে কেউ পানীয় জল পাবেন না।

সিকিম যখন জলবিদ্যুৎ কেন্দ্র করল, কেন্দ্রের দেখা উচিত ছিল। সে জন্য আজ মানুষকে ভুগতে হচ্ছে। জলপাইগুড়ির মানুষ জানেন, আগে করোলা নদী ভাসত। আমরা ২০ কোটি টাকা খরচ করে ব্যবস্থা করেছি। ভুটানের জল এসে আলিপুরদুয়ার ভাসে। জলপাইগুড়ি ভাসে।

কোটি কোটি টাকা খরচ করেও কিছু করতে পারছি না। উত্তরবঙ্গে ধস নামলে সেনার উচিত খেয়াল রাখা। সেখান দিয়ে তাঁরাই যাতায়াত করেন। জলপাইগুড়ি, মাল ক্ষতিগ্রস্ত। ৯টি ত্রাণকেন্দ্র তৈরি হয়েছে। ৫০০ জন রয়েছে। আগে জল জমত। আত্রাই নদীতে বাঁধ দেওয়ার সময়ও জানানো হয়নি। জলসঙ্কট তৈরি হয়েছে। আগে ইন্দো-বাংলাদেশ বৈঠকে যখন ডাকত, আমি বলেছি, কাজ হয়নি।

দুই দিনাজপুরে পরিস্থিতি স্বাভাবিক। এখন থেকে জেলাশাসকের সঙ্গে কথা বলে ব্যবস্থা করতে হবে। হয়তো ডিভিসি যখন-তখন জল ছাড়ে। এখন বলে দিয়েছি, না বলে ছাড়া যাবে না। আমাদের খানাকুল, আরামবাগ, গোঘাট, মেদিনীপুর, ঝাড়গ্রাম, ভাসে। মুকুটমণিপুর থেকে জল ছাড়লে বাঁকুড়া ভাসে। দুর্গাপুর ভাসে। ডিভিসি কতটা জল ছাড়বে, আমায় রোজ রিপোর্ট দিতে হবে। একবারে ১০০ ভাগ ছাড়া যাবে না। যখন দেখছে ৭৫ শতাংশ ভর্তি, তখন থেকে অল্প করে ছাড়লে সমস্যা হয় না। ওরা ড্রেজিং করে না।

ডিভিসির জলাধারে ২ লক্ষ মেট্রিক টন কিউসেক জল থাকতে পারে জলাধারে। কিন্তু ওরা ড্রেজিং করছে না। মাইথন পড়ে রয়েছে। মালদহেও সমস্যা হয় ভাঙনের। ২৫-৩০টি পরিবারকে সরানো হয়েছে।

জল জমলে রেলকে ব্যবস্থা নিতে হবে। এখান থেকে কম টাকা পান না তারা। ব্যবস্থা করতে হবে। জল জমলে ডেঙ্গির আশঙ্কা।

 

Jawhar Sircar’s speech during the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address in Rajya Sabha

Thank you, Sir. I am sure, Sir, you will give me some extra time because others have had. My only request is that I be allowed to speak without interruption because I am going to speak on very factual basis. It is a speech made by the President of India based on inputs given by the Government and there are certain comments on it. I will start with paragraph 3 where the President talks about good governance. I look at my friends on both sides and ask them this. When you visit a sarkari office, do you see this good governance? Or have the rates gone up? This is just an open question. Do you see good governance in sarkari offices? Or do you see certain other obstructions? Instead of going by a statement made in the President’s Address, I will take up an international comparison given by the World Bank. The World Bank’s Government Efficiency Index puts India at number 66. It is the lowest when it comes to developed countries. We are behind Botswana, Fiji, Mauritius, Lithuania, Latvia, etc. We are behind these countries. If we would have spent more time on actual governance rather than on advertising slogans and taglines made by ad agencies for boosting the image, things could have taken place in the last ten years. The second part relates to the continuous drumming of GDP and that we are the fifth largest GDP country in the world. I admit that. लेिकन जब जीडीपी का पानी िपएंगे, तो याद करना, िकसने वे कु एं खोदे थे? Who built the foundation for this GDP? We talk of five trillion dollar economy by 2024. It was a promise made by the Prime Minister. We are in 2024. And we are nowhere near four trillion dollars. पांच ििलयन की बात तो छोिड़ए, चार ििलयन तक नहीं पहुंचा, कोई बात नहीं, कोई बात नहीं। We all will make it. But the way we compute GDP, it is the gross wealth of the nation as a whole which includes the obscene degrees of wealth accumulated during the ten years by the oligarchs and big houses. This is a Government, as everyone knows, for the rich and by the rich. We talk of GDP in terms of you and me, which is per capita GDP. In terms of per capita GDP, India’s rank is 120 in the world with only 2,400 dollars. That’s all. We must understand … I am quoting it. I can give it any time. We are one of the lowest in terms of GDP in the world. It is an established fact. You can look up whatever you want. But this GDP is the GDP of Ambani, Adani, Jindal and Vedanta’s Agarwal (AAJA). This is what I call AAJA GDP. हम लोग तो हैंजाजा जीडीपी We belong to the ja ja group of GDP. जाओ तुम लोग। याद रिखए, inequality has reached insane proportions under this Government. International reports say that inequality is far worse than in colonial times. आप लोग बातबात पर colonial बोलते हैं! The second point that I want to raise is on paragraph 4 of the hon. President’s Address which is, ‘My Government’s Budget’. Sir, let me humbly submit this. As I stand before you, there is an economic blockade of West Bengal. I am using the term, economic blockade of Bengal. There are many opposition States that are suffering from pinches and cuts. But as far as Bengal is concerned, we have been stopped from Rs.1.23 lakh crores for MGNREGA, PM-JAY, PM Gram Sadak Yojana, NHM Central subsidy, etc. If we add the figure of 40,000 in the last two years, this makes it a total of Rs.1,71,000 crores of deprivation. We are specially targeted. The people whose houses had been devasted by cyclone Amphan, Yaas, Bulbul, etc., they have not received any compensation. An amount of Rs.870 crore of health sector funds are illegally stopped to us by linking it. I am using the word ‘illegally’. I was an officer and I know which part is legal and which part is not legal. Fifteenth Finance Commission fund has been illegally tied up with Ayushman Bharat and colour coding. हमेंकहा जाता हैिक make it saffron. Why? We have to understand why there is special hatred for Bengal. There are attacks on other States. It is because twice you have raised this bogie that बंगाल हमारे हाथ मेंहै, and you are thrown out. Whatever pressures you put, we shall not accept the 3 neetis. We shall not accept your communal agenda; we shall not accept your caste agenda. We throw out caste. And we shall not accept repression of women..Bengal is the only State… इनको िबठाइए।.. He is transgressing into my time. … Sir, let me put it. Bengal is the only State, my friend, that has 38 per cent women MPs in Rajya Sabha. … And 38 per cent women MPs in Lok Sabha. The excuse given by the Finance Department is आप UC नहीं देते। UC means Utilisation Certificate. Now, you please see CAG Report of 2021-22 and what it says in para 4.16. It says that 32 Central Ministries have not submitted UCs, 4,42,800 UCs. आप क्यों फालतूयू.सी., यू.सी. कहतेहैं? Sir, the happiest news is what the President has said in para 4 — it is a happy news for me for a very historical reason — that we shall be celebrating 75 years of the Constitution. But I go back to history, to the organizer, a paper of RSS, of 30th November, 1949. I go back to Golwalkarji’s Bunch of Thoughts, Part-III, Page 19. I am quoting from there. The worst thing about the Constitution of Bharat is that there is nothing Bharatiya about it; there is no trace of ancient Bharatiya laws; Manu’s Laws were written long before and Manu Smriti is our Constitution. These are his words which I am quoting. I am glad that after 75 years, his descendants have decided to eat these words with tomato sauce and join the constitution club. Sardar Patel, as you know, had banned the organisation for 18 months and at the end of 18 months, he got an assurance that they will abide by the Constitution. Incidentally, when we talk of Emergency — there is no one who supports Emergency — we don’t talk of Sardar Patel banning the organisation for 18 months, and you build statutes of the man who banned you. I come to para 22 because there is a reason. …. Today is the black day. …… Today is 1st of July and will be remembered like the 13th of April, 1919, Jallianwala Bagh day, because our laws, our criminal laws, which have worked well, have been trampled and discarded without discussion when 146 MPs were suspended. What does it talk of? Why? It is that it talks of being colonial. That was colonial and this is anti-colonial. मुझे एक बात बताइए, who participated in the anti-colonial movement? It was this side. We participated in the anti-colonial movement. You ran away from it. आप क्यों बातबात पर anti-colonial बात करते हैं? Section 111 of BNS makes writing and speech also to be an act of terrorism. I do not know how many of us would be arrested under it because it does not require a warrant for a police officer to arrest. Under Section 150 of the BNS, it criminalizes subversive activities without defining what subversive activities are. What I am saying about the Government, I am bounden as a Member of the Opposition to say. Is it subversive? I do not know. Because I may be arrested, I keep some stock of medicines for Tihar jail. Now, having said that, there is Section 150 which brings in a very interesting provision. One who excites people or stokes feeling of hatred can be banned and arrested. Do we remember somebody who was stoking feelings and exciting people with mangalsutras, with one community taking all your jehadis, with Sikhs as khalistanis, which is that community? Will it come under this Act? I want a clarification from the Home Minister whether such person, who makes that comment, amenable to action under Section 150 of the BNS or it is just a showpiece. As I said, under Section 172, police can arrest anyone including Dr. Sivadasan without warrant. Remember that. You are stopping fasting as a political weapon. Fasting was a political and sacred weapon. Shaheed Jatin Das died in Lahore jail in 1929 so that political prisoners are not treated like criminals. Gandhiji went on fast in Pune. Remember! How will you remember? You did not participate in the freedom struggle. How will you remember what fasting is? Fasting as a political weapon has been taken out. Section 149 authorizes the police to go on and break up any form of political agitation. Please reconsider this law in a full House and then come to the point. About banks, you have mentioned in para 17, छाती फु लाकर, ‘bank, bank, bank’. What have you done in your banks? In the last ten years, you have wiped off Rs.15.5 lakh crores in the name of cleaning..… Out of these Rs.15.5 lakh crores, who are the beneficiaries? On 12th December, 2023, the Finance Minister has said that frauds have eaten away Rs.2.05 lakh crores. इसमेंतो पूरेबंगाल के, entire pent-up funds would have been done twice over. Rs.2.05 lakh crores have been eaten up by frauds and who are they? It is Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Jatin Shah etc. They have destroyed Rs.2.05 lakh crores. Then, large industries have destroyed Rs.7.4 lakh crores. All India Bank Association (AIBA) says that two-thirds of the entire bad loans are accounted for by 13 favoured houses. That is all. Videocon’s debts were Rs.46,000 crores. They were sold to Vedanta for six per cent. What amount of herapheri is going on? The next dreadful thing is that three days ago, you operationalized the Telecommunications Act. This Telecommunications Act is another black Act that was passed in December when we were thrown out of the House. Now, what does this Telecommunications Act say? Every sign, signal, writing, text, image, sound, video stream, data stream information is amenable under the Act for interception and for punishment. You send a signal to somebody else, the Government has now empowered it. Remember, nobody stays in power for eternity. So, you will also suffer the consequences, the mischief of this Act. This is entirely aimed at criminalizing and terrorizing those who have stood up to this Government in the recent past like Ravish Kumar, Punya Prasun Vajpayee, the Deshbhakt, Kunal Kamra and Dhruv Rathee. This is all aimed at them. I come towards the last part of this thing. I will continue for a couple of minutes more with your kind permission. जी, दोचार िमनट दे ही देंगे। In the labour force, the highest degree of unemployment in the last thirty years is going on now. Eight per cent is the rate of unemployment which is the worst among the top ten economies. We have one country to match us and that is Italy. इटली सेअभी थोड़ा ज्यादा दोस्ती हो रही है, तो इटली की भी आठ परसेंट हैऔर हमारी भी आठ परसेंट है, बाकी सब below eight परसेंट है। What about jobs? Your Minister, Shri H.D. Kumaraswamy, has revealed four to five days ago that under the PLI Scheme, U.S. Enterprise, Micron Tech, is charging the Government Rs. 3.2 crores per job created. For one job creation, Rs. 3.2 crores! मुझेदेदीिजए, मैंसैकड़ों जॉब्स तैयार कर दूंगा with three crores of rupees. For the poor, you said that we have almost crossed the poverty line and eliminated it. But, you have to feed 81 crore people and yet talk of a mythical poverty line. Either they are not poor and you are force-feeding them or they are within the range of poverty. You talk of Jan Aushdhalaya and all. You have 25,000 of them. It takes 60,000 people to line-up before one of those stores. You talk of women. The Labour Force Participation Ratio among women is the lowest, I repeat, the lowest among all the top countries in the world. We are now below the Sub-African countries, below the Central Asian countries, below East-European countries and Kyrgyzstan, Chad, and Mauritius, etc. There is a complete distress going on and you are not realizing it. The hon. President has spoken about the ‘green era’. The Environment Minister mentioned that he has stopped two lakh trees from getting cut. As far as the green era is concerned, every law that pertains to the environment:- water, air and the ground, all of them have been amended with brute majority. Our pollution is one of the worst. I don’t need to tell people in Delhi about our pollution. But, there is a stunning fact that has come out and this fact has come out in international domain that India has used more coal, more thermal power than all of Europe put together and all of North America and we keep promising िक हम जा रहेहैंtowards non-fossil forces. Sir, I will end here by requesting the Railway Minister to kindly devote some time to आम जनता ेन्स, to train safety, to Kavach and for filling up 1.5 lakh posts that are vacant in the Safety Department only so that we don’t get repeated accidents. We do not want bullet trains, but we want our normal trains to be safe. Sir, the last word that I will say is that you are giving highest priority by giving ten lakh crores to eleven lakh crores of rupees to infrastructure but what is happening is that previously when the rain fell, the roofs leaked. But, now, the roofs fall and the papers leaked. With these words, I, thank you, Sir

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 ररजवेशनको 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.