Madam, I think there is no scope of confusion regarding this Bill. Most Opposition parties have jointly raised their voices. I agree with the proposal of Bhartruhari Mahtab, seconded by Jyotiraditya Scindia.
We also agree that this Bill should go to the Joint Committee. We can make this Bill better after holding discussions. Let the committee be constituted in a time-bound manner. Let further discussions be held in the Committee.
Madam, Sagar falls under my constituency. The previous Prime Minister (during UPA rule) had declared that there will be a sea port at Gangasagar. The present government has also declared earlier that there will be a sea port at Gangasagar.
Just now Hon’ble Minister has stated that for the proposed port at Gangasagar, he is getting lot of money from different sources. Of course, I am not clear whether this entire money, as he declared just now, is meant for the sea port Gangasagar only or some other ports also.
My question is when will the construction of the sea port at Gangasagar actually begin? We have been given a lot of assurance for the last four years but nothing is visible. I am putting my question again – when will the construction of the port begin?
West Bengal Government is taking massive steps to provide passenger safety in waterways transport. After successfully taking up the Safe Drive Save Life campaign for road safety, the State Government is taking up measures to improve infrastructure of the 50 important ferryghats which are used by thousands of passengers to avail water transport.
After a recent meeting at the State Secretariat, Nabanna, it was decided that there should be proper manning by the authorities and maintenance of the ferryghats at regular interval has been made mandatory. It will be also seen that the boats are not overloaded and time is maintained for the service. Also, lighting up the ferryghats has also been taken in account.
State Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikari has given strict instructions to follow the decisions made. The Transport department will now keep a strict vigil on all the ferryghats which are generally run by municipalities, Zilla Parishads or panchayats.
সড়ক পরিবহণের পর জলপথ পরিবহণেও যাত্রী নিরাপত্তায় গুরুত্ব দিচ্ছে রাজ্য সরকার। সড়ক নিরাপত্তায় সেফ ড্রাইভ সেফ লাইফ প্রচারের সফল কর্মসূচির পর রাজ্যের ৫০ টি ফেরিঘাটের পরিকাঠামো উন্নয়নের পরিকল্পনা নিয়েছে রাজ্য সরকার। এই ফেরিঘাটগুলি রোজ হাজার হাজার যাত্রী পারাপার করে।
নবান্নে একটি বৈঠকের পর সিদ্ধান্ত নেওয়া হয় যে, ফেরিঘাটের রক্ষণাবেক্ষণের জন্য অতিরিক্ত লোক রাখা হবে, যাত্রী ওঠানামার সময় নজরদারি চালাতে হবে, নৌকায় অতিরিক্ত যাত্রী তোলা যাবে না, নির্দিষ্ট সময় মেনে পরিষেবা চালু ও বন্ধ করতে হবে, অতিবৃষ্টির সময় পরিষেবা বন্ধ রাখতে হবে। প্রতিটি ঘাটে বিশেষ আলোর ব্যবস্থা করতে হবে।
যেসব সিদ্ধান্ত নেওয়া হয়েছে তা মেনে চলার নির্দেশ দেন রাজ্যের পরিবহণ মন্ত্রী শুভেন্দু অধিকারী। এখন থেকে পৌরসভা, জেলা পরিষদ বা পঞ্চায়েত দ্বারা পরিচালিত সব খেয়া ঘাট গুলির ওপর নজর রাখবে পরিবহন বিভাগ।
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurated a land bank in South 24 Parganas district today. She helmed the administrative review meeting of the district where she took stock of the ongoing projects. Senior officials of the State administration accompanied her.
During a survey, the South 24 Parganas district administration found that in Sonarpur, Baruipur, Bhangar, Budge Budge and Maheshtala, vast areas of vested land had remained untapped. The total quantum of such land is around 140 acres.
The Chief Minister had launched a project, which she named Sundarini, in South 24 Parganas last year, where the campaign to make the district Open Defecation Free (ODF), increase institutional delivery, drive against malnutrition among children, and showcase some products of the district like honey and Joynagarer Moa were taken up. Today, she inaugurated Anandi, a mother-and-child-care programme under Sundarini. The percentage of institutional delivery has gone up from 65 to 83. This remarkable growth has been possible because of the intense campaign launched as part of Sundarini.
The Chief Minister also launched a mobile app, Paramanna, by means of which one would be able to get all information regarding mid-day meals, and lodge complaints about mid-day meals too. In South 24 Parganas, 13.5 lakh children have been brought under the coverage of mid-day meals. Around 10,000 schools serve mid-day meal every day.
Main points of the Chief Minister’s press conference
আজ দক্ষিণ ২৪ পরগনায় প্রশাসনিক বৈঠক করার পাশাপাশি সেখানে ল্যান্ড ব্যাঙ্কের উদ্বোধন করেন মাননীয়া মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়। বৈঠকে জেলাশাসক ও উচ্চ পর্যায়ের কর্তারা উপস্থিত ছিলেন।
দ্বিতীয়বার ক্ষমতায় আসার পর এই প্রথম দক্ষিণ ২৪ পরগনায় প্রশাসনিক বৈঠক করলেন তিনি। সোনারপুরের মহামায়াতলার জয় হিন্দ অডিটোরিয়ামে এই সভা হয়। জেলার নানা সরকারি প্রকল্পের উন্নয়ন নিয়ে আলোচনা হয় এই বৈঠকে।
একটি সমীক্ষায় জানা গেছে, দক্ষিণ ২৪ পরগনা জেলার সোনারপুর, বারুইপুর, ভাঙর, বজবজ এবং মহেশতলা এলাকায় অনেক বিস্তীর্ণ জমি রয়েছে। এই জমির মোট পরিমাণ ১৪০ একর। গত বছর মুখ্যমন্ত্রী দক্ষিণ ২৪ পরগনায় ‘সুন্দরিনি’ প্রকল্প চালু করেন। এর মাধ্যমে নির্মল মিশন বাংলা, শিশুদের পুষ্টিকরন ইত্যাদি বিষয়ে প্রচার চালানো হয় এবং জেলার বিভিন্ন পণ্যদ্রব্য যেমন- মধু, জয়নগরের মোয়া ইতাদিকে তুলে ধরা হয়। বৃহস্পতিবার ‘সুন্দরিনি’ –র আওতায় একটি মাদার ও চাইল্ড কেয়ার প্রোগ্রাম ‘আনন্দী’-র উদ্বোধন করেন মুখ্যমন্ত্রী।
মুখ্যমন্ত্রী ‘পরমান্ন’ নামে একটি মোবাইল অ্যাপ্লিকেশন চালু করেন। ‘এই অ্যাপ্লিকেশন ডাউনলোড করে মিড ডে মিল সংক্রান্ত সব তথ্য পাওয়া যাবে। এছাড়াও, এর মাধ্যমে তারা খাবার সম্পর্কে অভিযোগ দায়ের করতে পারবেন। দক্ষিণ ২৪ পরগনা জেলায় ১৩.৫ লক্ষ শিশুকে মিড ডে মিলের আওতায় আনা হয়েছে। প্রতিদিন ৫০০০-১০০০০ বিদ্যালয় মিড ডে মিল দেয়।
বৈঠকের পর সাংবাদিকদের মুখোমুখি হয়ে তিনি বলেন,” কেন্দ্র অর্থ বরাদ্দ নিয়ে টালবাহানা করছে। ১০০ দিনের কাজে যে ১৭০০ কোটি টাকা দেওয়ার কথা কেন্দ্র এখনও তা দেয়নি। রাস্তা থেকে শুরু করে অনেক যোজনার টাকা দেয়নি কেন্দ্র। রাজ্য হস্তক্ষেপ ও রাজনৈতিক বৈষম্যের শিকার।”
ডেঙ্গি নিয়ে সতর্কতা প্রসঙ্গে তিনি বলেন, “চারদিকে খুব বৃষ্টি হচ্ছে। এই সময় রোগের প্রাদুর্ভাব হয়, ভয়ের কোন কারণ নেই। ডেঙ্গি প্রতিরোধে ব্যবস্থা নিয়েছে সরকার, সকলের কাছে আমার আবেদন পরিচ্ছন্নতা বজায় রাখুন।”
তিনি আরও বলেন, “গত বছর ১০০ দিনের কাজে দক্ষিণ ২৪ পরগনা জেলা বাংলায় প্রথম ছিল এই জেলা। আমরা ক্ষমতায় আসার আগে সমুদ্র উপকূলবর্তী এলাকাগুলোয় ডেলিভারি সেন্টার ছিল ৬০-৬৫ শতাংশ এখন তা বেড়ে ৮৫-৮৭ শতাংশ হয়ে গেছে।”
এছাড়া সরকার সম্প্রতি তিনটি নতুন প্রকল্প চালু করেছে। বন দপ্তরের উদ্যোগে নতুন প্রকল্প চালু হয়েছে – ‘গাছের চারা লাগানো’। প্রত্যেক শিশুর জন্মের সঙ্গে সঙ্গে তাদের একটি করে গাছের চারা দেওয়া হবে। ১৮ বছর বয়স হলে তারা ওই গাছ বিক্রি করে তাদের প্রয়োজনীয় অর্থ পেয়ে যাবে। শাল, মেহগনি এই জাতীয় গাছের চারা দেওয়া হবে তাদেরকে।
৩০০০ কবরস্থানে প্রাচীর তৈরি করে দেওয়া হয়েছে। সরকারি জমি গুলি নিয়ে একটি সমীক্ষা হচ্ছে। যেসব শ্মশান সরকারি জমিতে রয়েছে সেগুলিকে প্রাচীর দিয়ে দেওয়ার ব্যবস্থা করা হচ্ছে। এই প্রকল্পের নাম ‘বৈতরণী’।
গরীব মানুষদের সৎকারের জন্য রাজ্য থেকে ২০০০ টাকা দেওয়া হবে, এই প্রকল্পের নাম ‘সমব্যাথী’।এরকম অনেক নতুন প্রকল্প যেমন খাদ্যসাথী, কন্যাশ্রী, যুবশ্রী ইতাদি চালু হয়েছে।
“সব দপ্তর নিয়ে বিস্তারিত আলোচনা হয়েছে, খুব পজিটিভ আলোচনা হয়েছে।আজ ৫০ হাজার কিউসেক জল ছাড়ছে ডিভিসি। বেশি জল ছাড়তে বারণ করেছি। এছাড়া, আয়লা অধ্যুষিত এলাকায় যেটুকু কাজ বাকি তা তরান্বিত করার কথা বলেছি” , জানান মুখ্যমন্ত্রী।
Sir I stand to register my protest against The Factories (Amendment) Bill 2016. Kalyan Banerjee, on behalf of our party, has already opposed the Bill. It is very unusual that when a Bill is there under the consideration of the Ministry, just 2 clauses are taken out and introduced as a fresh Bill.
We wanted the minister repeatedly to have the comprehensive Bill which will include some things favourable to the workers. But increasing the hours of overtime will only help the manufacturers, Sir. That has been opposed by all trade unions. It has not ratified ILO conventions and the minister is playing into the hands of the manufacturers and corporate sector to pass a bill against the workers which will make them slaves for 100 hours in a quarter. I totally oppose the Bill. Thank you, Sir.
Thank you, Deputy Speaker Sir, for allowing me to speak on The Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
This Bill aims to ensure the safety measures and promote the health of the workers employed in the factory. I strongly oppose the Bill on the behalf of my party All India Trinamool Congress because we have seen many contractual and casual workers do not have medical check up, no medical compensation. In many plants when workers die, their bodies disappear and as they are contractual workers no records are there; no compensation is paid. It is elementary to democracy that when a worker is working in a factory he or she must work in a secure environment; this is not implemented.
The amendment should cover the loopholes of the law and make them fool-proof. Under this Act the inspectors come to the factory for inspection, they have a healthy relation with the factory owner but please bother to see the environment of the factory.
Does the Factory Act remain unimplemented for decades? Therefore the system of good inspectors has failed and we need to replace it in wider civil concept. In section 56 it is suggested to extend work hours to 12 hours which is totally inhuman and will impact the health condition of the workers. Section 64 and 65 of the Act suggest increasing the overtime hours from existing hours to quarter 100 hours. It is an anti-labour Bill and it is industry-friendly Bill. The provision of safety for women workers who work in the night shift should be looked after; it is the basic need of worker.
The government needs to enlarge the concept of monitoring system, inspection of the system where government official make huge irregularities in carrying out so-called routine inspection in the factory. I recommend this Bill be sent to the Standing Committee.
I would ask only one question to the Hon’ble Minister through you, Sir. Every civilian is allowed to go to the court but when the worker has to go to the court they have to seek permission from the government through Labour Commission which is a very lengthy process. Is the Government thinking anything on it?
It is high time that this government, which is speaking of Digital India, must ensure that workers’ rights should not be infringed upon. For the last two years the government claims to be working for improving India, but transforming India into a developed nation is not even on the horizon yet.
Thank you, Sir.
Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to take a part in the discussion on The Taxation Laws Amendments Bill brought before this House by Hon’ble Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley.
After the passage of a major tax reform, The Constitution Amendment Bill enabling GST, this is of course a small and somewhat technical amendment to the IT Act and the Customs Tariff Act. Let me at the outset take this opportunity to congratulate our Finance Minister for piloting through The Constitution Amendment Bill. A genuine co-operative federalism requires powers of taxation to be shared by the Centre and the States. And that perspective on federalism means that we should not restrict ourselves simply to working out a fair share of taxes. Seen in that light the States have been extremely farsighted and generous and I hope that the Central Government will recognize the farsightedness and generosity in future in strengthening our federal structure.
After supporting the government on such a major taxation reforms it would be churlish on my part to be overly critical of this Bill that has been brought somewhat suddenly; we have not had the opportunity to study its implications clearly. But as the Finance Minister clearly stated in his opening remarks, this legislation has three limbs and I will make some brief remarks about these three aspects of the legislative amendment that has been brought before us.
First of all there is going to be a change in relation to granite and marble sector. Here I would say that generally speaking our manufacturers ought to be encouraged to be more competitive both in terms of cost and quality.
We should not generally be encouraging protectionist tendencies in our industry and it seems to me that it is little premature to change this particular law increasing the customs duty from 10 percent to the WTO bound rate of 40 percent.
Since the Finance Minister has just considered a little while ago that various non-tariff barriers and the 10 percent customs duty together have been providing effective and adequate protection, we seem to be anticipating something that is happening with the nontariff barriers and I hope that in the course of his reply, Hon’ble Finance Minister will spell out who are the manufacturers and located in which States, who will be the main gainers from this.
At first sight it seems to me there are some manufacturers in Rajasthan who will probably benefit from this raising of customs duties – Nishikant Dubey ji was saying about the beautiful marble used in our historical monuments; that is not particularly relevant to the legislative amendment that is before us today. So I don’t think that it was strictly necessary at this stage but this is a small enough amendment of the customs duty in one particular sector. So we will not go to the extent of objecting to it or opposing it when it is put to vote.
The second limb is something that we have absolutely no difficulty with it. This is because it relates to the de-merger of the public sector companies; there is a particular history to this. BSNL was in fact a sold off in parts and we do not wish the Government which will be in the possession of land and similar assets to be subject to the capital gains tax. So, on the second limb of this tax legislation we are prepared to support the government unequivocally.
I now come to the third limb of this tax legislation and here I think we need to take a broad perspective. What is going to happen here is that there will be attractive incentive, I imagine, being given to manufacturers of governments and apparels. There is going to be a reduction in the requirement of number of days that they have to provide employment to their workers in order to get a particular exemption to the income tax.
As has already been pointed out by my friend from the Indian National Congress, India had a great opportunity as China moved up the scale of manufacturing industries and we could have actually filled the gap left by China in the garments and apparels sector. But I am afraid that we are losing that opportunity, if we have already not lost it. As has been pointed out that there are a number of manufacturers in South East Asia, countries have been mentioned Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia who are filling the lacuna left by China. Then there is our friendly neighbour Bangladesh where the garments industry is flourishing and Bangladeshi export garments are breaking into the world markets. I think we need to ponder here and the Prime Minister’s ‘Make In India’ slogan remains upto this point a slogan and is not being transformed into reality.
I would like to add here that if we reflect on this point carefully, we really need our garments and apparel manufacturers to create more employment, not less. We are allowing them to provide less employment in order to get a particular incentive but we need encourage them to provide more employment and this kind of employment is directly related to empowerment of women. If we look at Bangladesh today, women have been empowered because they have an independent source of income. We do hear of terrible accidents, perhaps of a fire that have taken place in Bangladesh, but overall we see that the garments industry has employed a large number of women, and they have been empowered in terms of gender relations. And that is why I say that the policy of our Government ought to be to generate more employment and provide a safe working environment for the women in the garment and apparel sector. That should be the thrust of the policy.
This has to be said in the larger macroeconomic scenario where in India where we are expecting high output growth accompanied by anemic jobs growth. Everyone in India is concerned about the jobless growth that we are experiencing. There is a raging public debate going on in that particular context and therefore overall I wish to say that the government needs to pay attention to creating more employment-generating industries and the government needs to focus on labour quite as much as the capitalists.
We have very little private domestic investment. Our economies are being powered by FDI inflows and public investment in infrastructure. So, I appreciate that these three changes in our taxation laws will provide incentive to our manufacturers particularly in the granite and marbles sector and the textiles and apparels sector.
But there is far more to be done if the promise that our Prime Minister made to the youth of this country – that they will have well paying jobs – is to be fulfilled. If that promise remains unfulfilled then it would be a betrayal of the younger generations in our country and the political cost of such betrayal is something this government will have to pay, in many ways.
From the Opposition we are suggesting to the government that in their own interest they need to look more closely at creating more jobs, creating more employment-generating industries and I hope that the incentives provided in these taxation law amendments will provide a way forward in that direction.
Thank you so much, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir.
Thank you, Madam.
My parliamentary constituency Balurghat falls under South Dinajpur district. The Atreyi river flows in this region, which finds mention in the Mahabharata. There are many areas in my constituency which are Mahabharata connection. So, this river is the heart of my constituency. But no dredging has been done here for a long time.
I have brought the issue up with Hon’ble Minister several times. I have raised the issue in the Standing Committee also. My constituency is agro-based region. I would like to request the Hon’ble Minister to carry out dredging in river Atreyi so that the entire region is benefitted.
Thank you very much.
Sir, before I say even one word about the incidents that have happened during the last one month, or the discussions we have had – and I have lots to say about it – let me make one message loud and clear, and that is not for anybody in this House.
Message for Pakistan
I must give our friends in Pakistan some straight talk: please do not meddle in our internal affairs; please do not shed crocodile tears; please do not pretend you have any love for the people of Kashmir; please do not give my country any bogus lectures on pluralism and democracy; please do not give us the bhashans by your generals, your politicians and your Establishment. Because my family knows Pakistan and my family knows India.
In 1947, when my grandfather and his younger brother worked in Kolkata; another brother was in Lahore, and he chose to stay there. Today, in spite of all the differences, in spite of all the problems we face, we are still the O’Briens of India. We can eat what we want, we can pray wherever we want to, we can walk the streets freely. But the O’Briens of Pakistan do not exist anymore. This is a fact, Sir. Yes, there are differences, Sir, and in the last two years, there have been very serious differences, and sometimes, it’s not only words which will solve these issues.
Laptops vs Stones
I wanted to start with the history and then come to the present. But I think I will start with the present and then go backwards in time. So let me start with yesterday, Sir. In Trinamool Congress, for the last 18 years, when it comes to matters of foreign policy, we are always with the Government; we are always with the country, it is not about winning any political points.
But yesterday, Sir, it was said by the Honourable Prime Minister that if those boys and girls had books in their hands or laptops in their hands or cricket bats in their hands, it would have been better, than stones. Sir, that statement concerns me. My concern is even if those young boys had laptops or books or cricket bats they would have still thrown it at where they want to throw it. This is a matter of concern, Sir. So we need to understand the situation better.
And I’ll say this, Sir. It is one thing when you are sitting in Opposition and you want to play Rambo, and it is another thing when you are in government and you have to work for maintaining peace and serenity.
A lot of the history which I wanted to say, Ram Gopal Ji, the professor has said before me. I will not go into the history but Ram Gopal Ji, whatever you have said about the history, I am completely on the same page as you. I do not want to mention too many names here because people will get touchy when you mention names.
Nationalism vs Patriotism
Sir, this is a human tragedy; this is a tragedy of common people. Who would know Zohra Farooq? She’s five years old, Sir, and she said (she said in Urdu, which got translated into English), “We don’t burn firecrackers at home, but THEY burn them now.” Sir, that reminds me – who is a nationalist and who is a patriot? The nationalist loves his country, the patriot loves the people of his country. And it is very important, Sir, at this stage, not to make a distinction between Kashmir the land and Kashmiris the people. This is important, Sir.
Kashmir – Behind the Vale
Here lies the paradox – this issue is above politics, so don’t get touchy. Interestingly, a few days ago there was a speech in Lok Sabha on behalf of the government, and I was intrigued to know who spoke on behalf of the government. His views on Kashmir 20-25 years ago may be a very nice view. It is a good view and it is often criticised because he is a Muslim.
Sir, I need to bring this point out today because this gentleman believed that Sardar Patel also had some views on Kashmir, and even Shyama Prasad Mookherjee was a stumbling block. Sir, I welcome the person the BJP chose to speak that day in Parliament. Maybe today the BJP and the NDA are taking a different look at Kashmir. The person who said all these words last week was MJ Akbar.
The BJP is looking at someone like MJ Akbar – he is my friend and I do not want to embarrass him – who wrote the book ‘Kashmir, Behind The Vale’. I am not here to publicise his book; he is your Minister. It is another matter that when this book was launched in 1991 there were many in your party who threatened to burn the book.
We want to hear voices like this Sir. The more we hear voices like this the more we believe there is a chance to solve this issue.
Move beyond statistics
Sir, let us move on to the Home Ministry. Some of my colleagues are on the Standing Committee on Home Affairs and I hear a meeting has been called today at 3 o’clock. And for that meeting we have been given some details from the Home Ministry.
The Home Ministry has given us the details of the use of pellet guns, and I am reading from that report. It says that in 2010 there were 6 deaths and 198 injuries and in 2016 there have been 3 deaths and 58 injuries. Sir, we have to go beyond these statistics. Sir, we have to come out of this mentality, because unless we come out of this mentality we will continue blaming each other. It is like saying that there are few injuries now, so we have committed a lesser sin. Sir, it is much beyond that.
Internet penetration
There is a big difference in Kashmir today; I was trying to study this change in the last 2-3 days; this is what I think has changed on the ground in Kashmir. Sir, in 2011, the internet penetration in Kashmir was 3 per cent, today the internet penetration in Kashmir is almost 28 per cent. Sir, that is a major change that has happened in Kashmir. And today, if you ask me, why the Hurriyat or anyone else doesn’t have control over these people, nor can the security forces? Because how can you have an encounter with YouTube? You can’t, because the opinion is being made on the internet.
Mr Home Minister Sir, you tweeted on July 9, 2016: “I appeal to the people of Jammu & Kashmir to remain calm and maintain peace, the centre is working with the state government.” Excellent. But the problem is when the tweet went out, the internet itself was blocked in Kashmir. In fact, in Kashmir the internet has been blocked 13-14 times. You cannot get young people on your side if you keep blocking the internet. The only other State that has blocked it 8 times in the last 2-3 times, is a western Indian state (Gujarat). I am saying it because it’s a fact.
Sir, Kashmir is non-negotiable. Similarly, the welfare of the people of Kashmir also has to be non-negotiable.
Sir, I am coming to the issue which actually started all this – Burhan Wani. The issue of internet penetration and Burhan Wani are linked because Burhan Wani was more dangerous on the internet than he was on the streets. I feel Burhan Wani is more dangerous in his grave than his living room. And Burhan Wani is maybe more dangerous when he is dead than he was alive. Sir, this is the changing situation in Kashmir.
We must move beyond the Home Ministry numbers. We must restrain ourselves; we are a young party of 18 years, so when we are telling the Congress and BJP, the national parties to do this, we are saying with all humility.
Pellets
Sir, I want to make a specific recommendation to the Home Minister. The Minister has said there are 4-5 different types of pellets; I do not want to make this a discussion on pellets. You have asked for 2 months for the expert committee to give its report. Two months is a long time. There is enough technology, Sir. Make it two days, make it one week and let us have the expert committee report. Those pellets are hurting, Sir. They are not only hurting the children but also hurting the consciousness of Kashmir.
Bottomline
I have never tried this before, but I will try it only once; I will end Sir, with an Urdu couplet.
Ek do jaga nahi,
Saara badan hai chhalni,
Dard bechara pareshan hai,
Kidhar se uthey.
Thank you, Sir.
Madam, I stand here today to raise an important issue facing the country. It is regarding the problem is distribution of scholarships to minority students. Government of India recently launched a programme for giving scholarships to the meritorious students and it will be implemented through a portal system.
However, students are facing problems while applying for the scholarships because of some problem in the portal. Four lakh such applications are totally pending with the Government of West Bengal and students are rushing to know the results of their fate and how they can get the scholarships.
Naturally, West Bengal Chief Minister wrote a letter to Prime Minister on July 23, 2016. She mentioned that it is a very positive policy; this government is taking care of the welfare of minority students. But since the portal system launched by the Central Government is not functioning properly, the State Government be given the authority to distribute the scholarship amount on their behalf so that the students can be benefitted.
This demand has come from all the members of the House. It has come from the Government’s side also. We support it, let it be implemented.
