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All roads lead to Dharmatala today

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Today is historic July 21. On this day in 1993, 13 valiant workers lost their lives at Mayo Road in Kolkata, after the police opened fire on them.

They were marching to Writers’ Building, led by current Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, then a firebrand Opposition leader, demanding that the voters’ identity card be made the only valid document to verify voters in order to stop the rampant ‘scientific rigging’ by the ruling party. Writers’ Building was then the state secretariat.

To commemorate the martyrdom of the 13 political activists, along with other martyrs who were killed during the Left Front rule, lakhs of people have converged from all the districts in Kolkata for the public meeting at Dharmatala.

As part of the preparations for Shahid Dibas rally, National President of Trinamool Youth Congress, Abhishek Banerjee held several public meetings across the State, all of which saw huge turnouts.

As in the past, this year too lakhs of party supporters have been put up at various places in Kolkata in eager anticipation of this special day. They have been accommodated by the party in places like the Geetanjali Stadium, Milan Mela grounds and various places in north Kolkata, where local leaders and party workers have been looking after them.

All roads lead to Dharmatala today. Camps have been set up at various places across the city to provide assistance to people. Commemorative gates have also been put up at important intersections in the city. Proper arrangements have been made for fire-safety, drinking water. Arrangements have also been made for medical emergencies.

 

আজ ধর্মতলায় শহীদ স্মরণ

আজ ঐতিহাসিক ২১শে জুলাই। ১৯৯৩ সালে এই দিনেই মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের নেতৃত্বে সচিত্র ভোটার কার্ডের ভিত্তিতে নির্বাচনের দাবী জানাতে গিয়ে বাম সরকারের পুলিশের গুলিতে কলকাতার রাজপথে প্রাণ হারিয়েছিলেন ১৩ জন যুবক। তার পরের বছর থেকে প্রতি বছর এই দিনে মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় পালন করেন শহীদ দিবস।

আজকের সভাকে উদ্দেশ্য করে রাজ্যের প্রতি জেলা থেকে এসেছেন অগণিত কর্মী, সমর্থক ও সাধারন মানুষ। সকল ধর্ম বর্ণের মানুষের গন্তব্য ধর্মতলা। বক্তব্য রাখবেন সর্বভারতীয় তৃণমূল কংগ্রেসের সভানেত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়।

প্রতি বছরের মত এবছরেও ২১শে জুলাইয়ের সভার জন্য প্রস্তুতি সভা শুরু হয়েছে বেশ কিছুদিন আগেই। সর্বভারতীয় যুব তৃণমূল সভাপতি অভিষেক বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় জেলায় জেলায় সভা করেছেন এই উদ্দেশ্যে। পুরনো কর্মীদের সম্মান প্রদান করার কথাও বলেছেন তিনি। প্রতিটি সভায় ভিড় ছিল চোখে পড়ার মত।

প্রতিবারের মতো বেশ কয়েকদিন আগে থেকেই কর্মী সমর্থকরা এসে জমা হয়েছেন কলকাতার বিভিন্ন অঞ্চলে। তাঁদের রাখা হয়েছে গীতাঞ্জলী স্টেডিয়াম, মিলন মেলা প্রাঙ্গন সহ বিভিন্ন জায়গায়। প্রতিটি শিবিরে আগতদের দেখাশোনা করার জন্য নিযুক্ত আছেন নেতা ও কর্মীরা।

শহরের বিভিন্ন প্রান্তর থেকে ধর্মতলায় যাওয়া ও ধর্মতলা যাবে বহু মিছিল। আগত মানুষের সুবিধার্থে খোলা হয়েছে বিভিন্ন ক্যাম্প। শহরের নানা জায়গায় গেট তৈরি করা হয়েছে।​ ব্যবস্থা রয়েছে ফার্স্ট এইড এর। অগ্নি নির্বাপন ব্যবস্থা এবং পানীয় জলের দিকেও নজর দেওয়া হয়েছে।

 

 

Looking back at July 21, 1993

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The July 21 Martyrs’ Day rally (Ekushe July Shahid Dibas) is organised by All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) in remembrance of the 13 political activists shot dead by the Bengal Police in Kolkata during a protest movement led by Mamata Banerjee on that day in 1993.

The current Chief Minister, who was a firebrand Opposition leader back then, had organised Writers’ Chalo Abhiyan (March to Writers’ Building), demanding that the voters’ identity card be made the only valid document to verify voters in order to stop the rampant ‘scientific rigging’. Writers’ Building was then the State Secretariat.

Bloody history

The party workers gathered at five different points across Kolkata on that fateful day. They began marching towards their destination along Brabourne Road and were stopped by a large contingent of police officials near the Tea Board office, barely few minutes away from the Writers’ Building. The police force started beating up the crowd mercilessly in order to drive them away from the vicinity of the State Secretariat.

The youth activists, who were peacefully rallying, refused to stop and walked ahead. Many rounds of teargas shells were fired but the supporters kept moving forward. The police went berserk and did not even spare Mamata Banerjee while beating the youth activists black and blue. People started running across Curzon Park. The police opened fire, killing 13 supporters and leaving hundreds severely injured.

Since then, an annual rally has been held on this day every year, dedicated to the memory of these 13 martyrs.

Remembering martyrs

On the political significance of this day, the Trinamool Congress Chairperson Mamata Banerjee writes in her book, My Unforgettable Memories:

“It is the day when we remember and offer our respect to the hundreds of people who are fighting death every day, whose lives are a living death, who have lost life and limb in this struggle. For us, it is a day of sorrow and shame.”

“Ever since 1993, every year July 21 brings back excruciating pain and agony to our memory, of the barbaric act of violence and brutal firing meted out by the previous Left Front government”, recalls the Trinamool Chairperson.

“The voice of democratic demand raised in a peaceful procession was stifled with bullets and violence… Every year, 21st July is dedicated to the ‘Shahid family’ (martyrs family) belonging to different democratic movements”, the Trinamool Congress Chairperson said.

“Let us bow our heads down, pay obeisance and remember their invaluable sacrifice and also take a pledge to rededicate ourselves to continue to fight for the cause of ‘Maa Mati Manush’ and build a harmonious, peaceful and prosperous Bengal”, she said.

The following is the list of the persons who died on 21 July 1993:

 

Srikanta Sharma

Bandhan Das

Dilip Das

Asim Das

Keshab Bairagi

Biswanath Roy

Kalyan Banerjee

Pradip Roy

Ratan Mondal

Murari Chakraborty

Ranajit Das

Abdul Khalek

Inu

 

ফিরে দেখা রক্তাক্ত ১৯৯৩ এর ২১শে জুলাই

প্রতি বছর ২১শে জুলাই শহীদ দিবস পালন করে সর্বভারতীয় তৃণমূল কংগ্রেস। ১৯৯৩ সালের ২১শে জুলাই ১৩ জন যুবক প্রাণ হারায় পুলিশের গুলিতে।।

নির্বাচনী প্রক্রিয়ায় সচিত্র ভোটার কার্ড বাধ্যতামূলক করার দাবিতে ‘রাইটার্স চলো অভিযানের’ ডাক দিয়েছিলেন নেত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়।

রক্তাক্ত ইতিহাস

ওই দিন দলের কর্মীরা কলকাতার পাঁচটি অঞ্চলে জমায়েত হন। তাঁরা সকলে ব্রেবোর্ণ রোড ধরে এগোতে শুরু করেন মহাকরণের উদ্দেশ্যে। এক বিশাল পুলিশ বাহিনী তাঁদের পথরোধ করে টি বোর্ডের অফিসের কাছে। এই শান্তিপূর্ণ মিছিলের ওপর পুলিশের তরফে শুরু হয় লাঠিচার্জ ও কাঁদানে গ্যাস ছোঁড়া। এমনকি মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়কেও রেয়াৎ করেনি পুলিশ।

কার্জন পার্কের কাছে দৌঁড়াতে শুরু করেন যুব কর্মীরা। এবার পুলিশ গুলি চালানো শুরু করে; মুহূর্তের মধ্যেই মাটিতে লুটিয়ে পড়েন কর্মীরা। প্রাণ হারান ১৩ জন সমর্থক ও আহত হন শতাধিক কর্মী।

পরের বছর থেকে এই দিনটিতে ‘শহীদ দিবস’ পালন করে আসছেন মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়।

১৯৯৩ সালের ২১ শে জুলাই যারা শহীদ হয়েছিলেনঃ

শ্রীকান্ত শর্মা

বন্ধন দাস

দিলীপ দাস

অসীম দাস

কেশব বজ্রঙ্গি

বিশ্বনাথ রায়

কল্যাণ ব্যানার্জি

প্রদীপ রায়

রতন মণ্ডল

মুরারি চক্রবর্তী

রণজিৎ দাস

আবদুল খালেক

ইনু

 

 

Turnout for this year’s July 21 will break all records: Abhishek Banerjee

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National President of Trinamool Youth Congress, Abhishek Banerjee speaks to the press after overseeing the arrangements of 21 July Shahid Dibas rally:

Nearly 22,000-24,000 people have already arrived in Kolkata for the July 21 rally. We are making arrangements for them in our limited capacities. We have set up tents and made arrangements for food so that our workers do not face any problem. District presidents and MLAs who are in charge are present. We are all working unitedly.

Going by the response and enthusiasm of the people, we are expecting a record turnout for the rally. Every year the rally breaks the record of the previous year. 2014’s record was broken in 2015; the record turnout of 2015 was surpassed in 2016. Now, 2017 will break the record of 2016.

Despite the vilification campaign and propaganda, the popularity of Mamata Banerjee has not diminished by even one per cent. This proves that she enjoys the support of people. They continue to shower their love and blessings on her. People have time and again voted in favour of development and will continue to support Mamata Banerjee as long as she is there. The conspiracies of those who want to communally polarise Bengal stand defeated.

In a few hours we will know what direction for the future our leader Mamata Banerjee will give. At present, the nation is at such a juncture where certain elements are trying to destabilise Bengal in the name of religion. We have to work unitedly against such forces and defeat their machinations.

Bengal had been turned into a graveyard during the 34 year old Left rule. We fought unitedly against them and were successful in dislodging them from office. Mamata Banerjee has a long history of struggle. It would be unfair to compare her with any other leader. Trinamool was formed after a long struggle. We are ready to fight again.

We do not work for the people only during elections. We are with them all through the year. Through various developmental schemes and programmes, we are continuously serving the Maa, Mati, Manush of Bengal. Our leader Mamata Banerjee’s motto is to be with people, all the time. We follow in her footsteps.

Those who were with the CPI(M) in the past have switched camps to the BJP. Those who adorned red t-shirts earlier now wear saffron kurtas. Leaders like Laxman Seth, who was responsible for Nandigram, have now joined the BJP. Even Mamata Banerjee has said, these people are CPI(M) supporters during the day and work for BJP at night. Even in the bypolls we have seen that CPI(M) votes have gone to the BJP. But these things do not bother us. Trinamool is number one. We are not worried about who comes second or third.

Mamata Banerjee re-established democracy in Bengal. We have to uphold the unity, harmony, democracy in the State. The surge of development will continue.

 

প্রতিবারের ২১ শে জুলাইয়ের রেকর্ড প্রতিবারের ২১ শে জুলাই ভাঙে: অভিষেক বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়

২১ শে জুলাইয়ের প্রস্তুতি সভা পরিদর্শনে গিয়ে সাংবাদিকদের মুখোমুখি অভিষেক বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়

ইতিমধ্যেই ২২-২৪ হাজার মানুষ উপস্থিত হয়েছেন। আমাদের সীমাবদ্ধ ক্ষমতা ও এক্তিয়ার অনুযায়ী বিভিন্ন জায়গায় আমরা টেন্ট করেছি এবং কিছু খাবারের ব্যবস্থাও করা হয়েছে যাতে আমাদের কর্মীদের কোন অসুবিধা না হয়। জেলা সভাপতি থেকে শুরু করে, বিধায়করা যারা দায়িত্বে আছেন তারা সবাই এখানে রয়েছেন। সবাই ঐক্যবদ্ধ হয়ে কাজ করছেন।

মানুষের উৎসাহ উদ্দীপনা দেখে আমি মনে করি প্রতিবারের ২১ শে জুলাইয়ের রেকর্ড প্রতিবারের ২১ শে জুলাই ভাঙে। ২০১৪ -র রেকর্ড ২০১৫ তে এবং ২০১৫ -র রেকর্ড ২০১৬ তে ভেঙেছে এবং ২০১৬ -র রেকর্ড ২০১৭ তে ভাঙবে।

এত কুৎসা, অপপ্রচার ও মিথ্যাচার করার পরও মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের জনপ্রিয়তা কেউ ১ শতাংশ বা আধ ইঞ্চিও চির ধরাতে পারেনি। এটাই প্রমাণ করে মানুষের আস্থা, আশির্বাদ, দোয়া, সালামের হাত যার মাথার ওপর রয়েছে তিনি মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়। মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় যতদিন আছেন মানুষ তাঁকে সমর্থন করে যাবে। উন্নয়নের পক্ষে মানুষ বারবার রায় দিয়েছে।যারা বাংলাকে ধর্মের নামে দ্বিখণ্ডিত করতে চায়, আগুন লাগাতে চায়, তাদের চক্রান্ত ব্যর্থ। তাদের মুখে চুনকালি লেপে দিয়ে বাংলার মানুষ প্রমাণ করছে যে মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের বিকল্প নেই।

২১ শে জুলাইয়ের মঞ্চ থেকে আমাদের নেত্রী কি বার্তা ও নির্দেশিকা দেবেন সেটা আর কয়েক ঘণ্টার অপেক্ষা। তবে আমি মনে করি যে সন্ধিক্ষণে আমাদের সমাজ চলছে, যে অবস্থার মধ্যে দিয়ে যাচ্ছে, যারা ধর্মের ভিত্তিতে বাংলাকে ভাগ করতে চাইছে তাদের চক্রান্ত আমাদের যৌথভাবে, ঐক্যবদ্ধ হয়ে প্রতিহত করতে হবে, লড়াই করতে হবে।

৩৪ বছর ধরে বাম শাসন যে ধ্বংসস্তূপ তৈরী করেছিল আমরা ঐক্যবদ্ধ হয়ে, লড়ে তাদের আমরা বাংলা থেকে বিদায় দিয়েছি। সুতরাং, অন্যান্য নেতা বা নেত্রীর সঙ্গে মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়কে তুলনা করা ঠিক নয়। অনেক লড়াই, আন্দোলন, ঘাত-প্রতিঘাতের মধ্যে দিয়ে তৃণমূল কংগ্রেস তৈরী হয়েছে। আমরা যে কোন লড়াইয়ের জন্য প্রস্তুত।

আমরা শুধু ভোটের সময় এসে মানুষের পাশে দাঁড়াই না। আমাদের কর্মীরা সারা বছর ধরে বিভিন্ন সামাজিক ও উন্নয়নমূলক প্রকল্প কর্মকাণ্ডের মাধ্যমে প্রতি পদক্ষেপে, প্রতি নিয়ত সাধারণ মানুষের পাশে থাকে। এটাই আমাদের বৈশিষ্ট্য, তাৎপর্য। এটাই একমাত্র নির্দেশ মমতা বন্দ্যপাধ্যায়ের। মানুষের পাশে সবসময় থাকতে হবে।

মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের আদর্শকে উৎসর্গীকৃত করে, তাঁর জীবনধারাকে আদর্শ করে, পথ চলার পথের পাথেয় করে আমরা সবসময় মানুষের বিপদ, সুখ-দুখে পাশে থেকেছি এবং আগামী দিনেও এর কোন বিকল্প বা ব্যতিক্রম হবে না।

যারা সিপিএম করত তারাই বিজেপি করছে, যারা লাল পাঞ্জাবি পরে ঘুরত তারাই গেরুয়া পাঞ্জাবি পরে ঘুরছে। আমাদের মুখ্যমন্ত্রী বলেছিল, যারা সকালে সিপিএম করে, তারাই রাতে বিজেপি করে। লক্ষ্মণ শেঠের মত নেতা যারা নন্দীগ্রাম ঘটিয়েছে তারা আজ হাতে পদ্মফুল নিয়ে বিজেপিতে যোগদান করেছে, গেরুয়া পাঞ্জাবি পরে ঘুরছে, এটাই তার প্রমাণ। এর আগে যে কটি উপনির্বাচন হয়েছে, সিপিএমের নেতা কর্মীরা তারা তখন সকলেই বিজেপির দিকে গেছে। তাতে আমাদের কিছু যায় আসে না। কে ২ নম্বর, কে ৩ নম্বর বা কে ৪ নম্বর সেটা আমাদের লক্ষ নয়। আমাদের লক্ষ্যতৃণমূল কংগ্রেস ১ নম্বর ছিল এবং আগামী ১০০ বছর ১ নম্বরে থাকবে।

মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের নেতৃত্বে বাংলার মাটিতে গণতন্ত্র ফিরে এসেছে। এই গনতন্ত্রকে সামনে রেখে বাংলার মানুষ ঐক্যবদ্ধ হয়েছে, উন্নয়নকে সামনে রেখে। আগামী দিনে উন্নয়নের জয়যাত্রাকে ত্বরান্বিত, অব্যাহত ও অক্ষুণ্ণ রাখতে হবে।

Ahamed Hassan Imran makes a Zero Hour Mention regarding crisis in textile industry due to GST

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FULL TRANSCRIPT

Sir, Government action has caused unrest among the textile and readymade garment traders throughout the country.

Due to GST, there is confusion and fear among the traders and no efforts have been made by the Government to ease the situation. There was a nationwide three-day strike by the textile workers before the launch of the GST. Some five lakh textile and readymade garment shops across Bengal – and some 5000 shops alone in Barabazar, Kolkata – were on strike against the tax imposed on textiles. Readymade garment traders are still on strike. The expected loss due to the strike is said to be around Rs 22,000 crore.

The situation is similar in almost all the other states of the country, be it Gujarat or Maharashtra. In BJP-ruled Gujarat, thousands of traders are on the ground protesting against GST in various towns. In Surat alone, some 75,000 textile traders were on strike against GST till yesterday. This strike, lasting for more than 20 days, has led to a situation where around 15 lakh labourers in Surat are now jobless. These are daily wage earners who have been forced to return to their homes in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Bengal. The estimated loss due to this indefinite strike is around Rs 5,000 crore.

Who is to be blamed for the loss of the economy? The Government needs to answer. Who is to be blamed for the job loss throughout the country? The Government, instead of having a dialogue with the traders, is suppressing their demands by force. Unfortunately, their plight is not much highlighted in the media.

Sir, through you, I ask the Government to start a dialogue with the textile and readymade garment traders, listen to their demand and take appropriate action.

Thank you.

 

Sukhendu Sekhar Roy makes a Zero Hour Mention regarding the crisis in textile industry due to GST

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FULL TRANSCRIPT

Sir, I support the points raised by the other members regarding this issue. The traders in the largest textile hub in Eastern India, the Barabazar area, have been on strike for a long time – almost one month. Through you, Sir, I would like to request the Hon. Finance Minister to meet the delegation of the textile traders. One of our members has given a Notice for a full-fledged discussion on the issue. It must be taken up.

International commerce and industry meet to be held in Kolkata in November

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Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is going to attend an international commerce and industry meet to be organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the West Bengal Government in Kolkata from November 26 to November 27 this year.

It is not just any trade meet, but the 2017 edition of Horasis Asia Meeting, Asia’s foremost gathering of senior leaders from businesses and governments, and thus an ideal platform for exploring and advancing regional cooperation, impacting investments and driving sustainable growth. The Kolkata event is also the first time that this prestigious business meet is being held in India. Horasis is a Zurich (Switzerland)-based thinktank.

About 500 delegates from 65 countries and 150 from India are scheduled to participate in the meeting.

The two-day event is expected to highlight Bengal in the Asian platform, and also work as a  stepping stone for the next Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS), the annual investment meet that the State will be hosting in January.

Source: Aajkal

 

নভেম্বরে কলকাতায় অনুষ্ঠিত হবে আন্তর্জাতিক শিল্প ও বাণিজ্যিক সম্মেলন

ইন্ডিয়ান চেম্বার অব কমার্স (আইসিসি)-এর উদ্যোগে আন্তর্জাতিক শিল্প সম্মেলন হতে চলেছে কলকাতায়। যেখানে উপস্থিত থাকবেন রাজ্যের মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়। ২৬ ও ২৭ নভেম্বর এই সম্মেলন হতে চলেছে।

নভেম্বরের এই সম্মেলনটিকে হোরাসিস এশিয়া মিটিং বলে চিহ্নিত করা হয়েছে। এই সম্মেলনে ৬৫টি দেশ থেকে প্রায় ৫০০ আন্তর্জাতিক এবং দেশের ১৫০ জন নামকরা শিল্প ও বাণিজ্যিক প্রতিনিধি যোগ দেবেন।

প্রসঙ্গত, হোরাসিস হল একটি আন্তর্জাতিক বিশেষজ্ঞ গোষ্ঠী। বিশ্বের উদীয়মান ও উন্নত বাজারগুলিতে শিল্প ও বাণিজ্যের স্থায়ী প্রসারের লক্ষ্যে এই গোষ্ঠীকে ব্যাবহার করা হবে। ভারতে এই ধরনের সম্মেলন প্রথম হচ্ছে বলে আইসিসি-র তরফে জানানো হচ্ছে।

এশিয়ার অন্যতম প্রবেশপথ হিসেবে কলকাতা চিহ্নিত। শিল্প ও বাণিজ্যের প্রসারের জন্য বিভিন্ন ক্ষেত্রে রাজ্য সরকারের সদর্থক ভূমিকার বিষয়গুলিও এই সম্মেলনে উঠে আসবে। মূলত বাণিজ্যের স্থায়ী প্রসারের লক্ষ্যে শিল্প ও বানিজ্য মহলের বাণিজ্যি মহলের পারস্পরিক সহযোগিতার বিষয়গুলি তুলে ধরা হবে। পাশাপাশি ঠিক হয়েছে রাজ্য সরকারের সঙ্গে বিভিন্ন গুরুত্বপূর্ণ পরিকল্পনা রুপায়ণে আইসিসি একসঙ্গে কাজ করবে।

Kalyan Banerjee speaks during a discussion on the agrarian situation in the country

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FULL TRANSCRIPT

Honourable Speaker Madam, I am grateful to you for giving me the chance to speak on the subject. Death of farmers, whether through suicide or other methods, is now a national issue. It has become a daily headline in the media.

The National Policy on agriculture is affecting the inalienable right to life, which includes livelihood of the farmers. India is an agrarian country, with around 70 per cent of its people depending, directly or indirectly, on agriculture. Farmers’ suicides accounts for 11.2 per cent of all suicides in India.

Today, the MP from Congress spoke about certain incidents in Madhya Pradesh. I will give some figures which speak for themselves, about the state of affairs of the farmers of this country.  As per the National Crime Records Bureau, the number of suicides by farmers and farm labourers increased to 12,316 in 2013-14.

A study conducted in 2014 found that there are three specific reasons for this:

those who grow cash crops like coffee and cotton;

second, marginal farmers cultivating less than 1 hectare,

and third, those who are having debts.

 

The study found that in the States in which these three characteristics are most common are also those with the highest number of suicides  – almost 75 per cent of the variability in State-level suicides. Farmer suicides increased by 42 per cent between 2014 and 2015. The number of suicides by those in the farming sector increased from 12,316 in 2014 to 12,602 in 2015.

Maharashtra is now at the top of the list: 30,030 deaths – an increase of 18 per cent from 2014. Telangana is second, with 1,358 cases, and Karnataka third, with 1,390 cases. Six States: Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka saw a more than three-fold rise in farmer suicides in 2015, as compared to 2014 which accounted for 94.1 per cent of total farmer suicides. All these data are from the National Crime Records Bureau.

The States which recorded nil suicides in 2015 include Bihar, Bengal, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Nagaland and Uttarakhand. Local money lenders are usually portrayed as the villains in India, causing farmer suicides directly. Government data shows that 80 per cent of the farmers killed themselves directly because of bankruptcy and debts after taking loans from banks and registered micro-finance institutions.

Bankruptcy and indebtedness were the single-largest underlying cause of farmer suicides in 2015 with 38.7 per cent of the 8,007 farmer suicides due to those factors. Farming related issues form the second major cause accounting for 19.5 per cent of the cases.

Till April 2016, as many as 160 farmers have committed suicide due to agrarian reasons. As per the data, 57 cases of farmers’ suicide were reported in Maharashtra up to 29 February, 2016. And 56 farmers suicide cases were reported in Punjab as on 11 March 2016.

As per the reports received from various sources 6,867 farmer suicides were from just five states: Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. This is 55 per cent of the total farmers’ suicides in 2015. 319 deaths were reported from Maharashtra alone in 2017. Surprisingly there are reports of farmer suicides from Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat also.

Madam, Mr Scindia already said, and very vividly, about the incident in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, where at least five farmers were killed and several injured in June 2017, when police fired on protesters demanding better prices in the drought-ridden region that recorded farmers’ suicides every five hours in 2016 and 2017. Data from the National Crime Report Bureau shows that  from February 2016 to mid-February this year, at least 1,982 farmers and farm labourers committed suicide in Madhya Pradesh; an average of one suicide every five hours. This is an ill-effect of demonetisation on farmers.

Madam, I was just sharing the data about farmers. But in the last 30-35 years, if there was anybody who fought for the rights for farmers, it was Mamata Banerjee. You have to appreciate it. In 2006, she agitated for farmers’ rights in Singur.

Mamata Banerjee, our leader and the present Chief Minister of Bengal, led the agitation. She went on hunger strike for 26 days. And ultimately, people gave their verdict and in 2011 she came to power. Incidentally Madam, that land acquisition case was challenged in Calcutta High Court in 2006. And it is my great privilege that I argued that matter. But I lost the case in the Calcutta High Court. But in 2016, the Supreme Court has affirmed what Mamata Banerjee had said in 2006. This is the first time in India, Madam, that all the acquired land has been returned back to the farmers; agriculture has been started again there by farmers. And our Chief Minister has taken the lead role in the matter.

So, Mamata Banerjee has been at the forefront of the fight for the rights of the farmers. Democratic fight was there. There was serious criticism at that point of time. But today it has been established, and even the Supreme Court has affirmed that land acquisition was illegal.

Therefore Madam, farmers Rights have to be considered with respect. It is a very sensitive issue and a very emotional issue. Farmers have to be protected. I wish to end with this thought. I do not want to share any more data. That will not resolve the problem of the country. Why are the farmers committing suicide? The reasons have to be dealt with so that no farmer can commit suicide and no farmer is compelled to agitate. And no farmer should be killed by the police during agitation. I’m ending with this thought.

Thank you.

 

Trinamool’s Derek O’Brien speaks during a Short Duration Discussion on crimes against the marginalised

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1. Marginalised in Trouble

Sir, Moti Samadhiyala is the name of a village. Exactly one year ago many members of Parliament from different political parties visited this village. We from the Trinamool Congress also went there. Moti Samadhiyala is actually 10 km from town of Una, in Gir-Somnath district, Gujarat. This is where those seven Dalit boys met their fate.

Now, I don’t want to take up more than one example because thankfully so many of my colleagues before have given many examples. So, I will give one example and then I will get on to these issues.

Now around this time in July last year, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat had announced that there would be a fast-track court to examine what happened and reach the truth about these seven Dalit boys. My direct charge, through you, is why has that special court not been set up yet? This is one example. I can give you another 50 examples. But the point is about the words and action.

2.Ask the Right Questions

We are asking the questions…. we are asking the right questions. On June 29, 2017, the Prime Minister said, “Killing people in the name of ‘gau bhakti’ is not acceptable”. We all know what happened a few hours later in Jharkhand (another man was beaten to death in Ramgarh). But through you let me convey to the Prime Minister – empty words and generic comments won’t work. Please name the groups, name the individuals and name the organisations. Then we will take you seriously. Otherwise we are deeply suspicious.

Then let’s go to July 2. I have quote here, ‘There is no apprehension anywhere in the country’. This was said by the president of the BJP. When I last checked, he was the president of the BJP in India, so if I give him the benefit of doubt. May be he was referring to La La Land. But if this sentence I presume is referring to India; then he is living in his own world. Because he cannot say something like ‘There is no apprehension anywhere in the country’.

3.Cow Terrorism

Sir, I have problem with this term ‘cow vigilantism’. To be a cow vigilante, the person committing the damage has to be a criminal. In all the examples the Leader of the Opposition and everyone has given, they are not criminals.

So ‘cow vigilantism’ is a wrong term. The real term is ‘cow terrorism’ or ‘gau-atank’. This is ‘cow terrorism’. And I want to build on this argument because this is exactly what the BJP wants. They do not want to answer the real questions. Because once we come to the real question, they do not have the answer.

Let me give you an example: This morning, we asked a question: how many people have died due to lynchings. They passed it on to the States. Everything the States will have to answer. The problem is they are lighting the fire in the States, then they want us to use fire extinguisher to put out the fire.

4. Changing the narrative

Sir, what is the issue here? Let me explain to you. This morning there was a question on the savings on LPG cylinders. The answer given was Rs 25,000 crore. When you want to take the credit, then you take the credit, otherwise you blame the States. We looked at the figure Sir, it is not Rs 25,000 crore. It is a BJP special jumla. Rs 23,000 crore of that Rs 25,000 crore is because of the oil prices.

Sir, I know this is not an economic discussion. But I want to make these points because this is the narrative and everything else, Sir, is a distraction. The narrative today is that the marginalised are being killed, they are being lynched.

5. ‘Terrorism’ against the child

Let me move away from the minorities and Dalits to see how this Government is also engaged in terrorism against the child, Sir.

Seventy per cent of children below 5 years do not have Aadhaar cards as on November 15, 2016. Because they do not have Aadhaar, they are being denied mid-day meals. They have also linked Aadhaar with ICDS. These are the big questions, Sir. The other narrative will not work, Sir.

6.Digital terrorism

Sir, the BJP speaker used a very nice term. My Hindi is not very good but I wrote it down. “Khula hain jhoot ki bazaar”.  Kaun khula hain jhoot ki bazaar? They are the champions in it. We have a lot of love and respect for Facebook; they have turned Facebook into Fakebook. They have made it into an art form.

How do they do it Sir?

Step 1: Get someone to put up a provocative (often morphed) picture on Facebook

Step 2: Amplify the rumour-mongering through digital media and word-of-mouth

Step 3: Spread propaganda through mouthpieces masquerading as news channels and independent journalists

Step 4: Get party politicians to jump in and validate the digital dirt as if it were really happening.

 

Let me share a recent example from Basirhat (Baduria). They spread pictures showing communal disharmony from Comilla in Bangladesh. And now they have become even more creative. This is serious – good creativity but it is very bad for communal harmony. Another picture was a shot taken from a Bhojpuri film and it was put up by the BJP followers. Sir, this is not only done by followers, but BJP leaders also.

We all know that a social media is a free place it is an expressive place but this is not the way to use it, Sir. Post card news, for those of you who follow this, is a BJP-RSS run website. They have also taken the option. So, why I am mentioning this? Because these are all related to small incidents and they amplify these incidents.

7. TV terrorism

Sir, we are discussing about the marginalised, and the pain, the lynching, and the suffering they are going through. But, what is even more scary is even those whose are not so marginalised are being attacked by them. I believe they are indulging in ‘TV terrorism’. I believe they are indulging in ‘press terrorism’. You either become a mouthpiece or… There are a few good journalists who are still trying to speak the truth. Most of the TV channels, I do not want to name them, and half a dozen newspapers. We know the kind of pressure they are in. These are not marginalised, these are powerful media houses.

8. Political terrorism

Sir, it doesn’t stop there. This is a lynching of a different kind; targeting political parties. If you do not agree with them, they will come after you – we have seen this for National Herald, the Chidambaram case, Narada. They will send the CBI, then the ED. This will not stop us, because these Opposition parties will not bow down to political terrorism. We will not bow down to your political vendetta.

9.Financial terrorism

Let them answer for the financial terrorism they have indulged in. When Dr Manmohan Singh stood up here and said GDP will be down by 2 per cent, everyone made a noise. When my colleague, Dr Amit Mitra said in Kolkata that after demonetisation the GDP growth will witness a 2 per cent drop, everyone thought it was wrong. But look at the numbers. The GDP growth is down by 1.9 per cent. We want answers to these questions. Do not destroy the narrative. Give us answers to these questions. I make a charge against this Government that they are manipulating WPI, CPI data to make the numbers look good. Let the Finance Minister come and explain the numbers. The game here is that you manipulate the denominators.

10. Tax terrorism

The question here is, it is going beyond financial terrorism. There is tax terrorism. This is regarding the GST. Who are they to lecture on GST? For seven years they stalled GST. Now they are having midnight reality TV and showing the country how they are for GST. Trinamool was for GST for the last 11 years.

Let us think economically. You’ve killed the leather industry in Bengal, you’ve killed the textile industry. Then there is the ‘arrest clause’. There are many other examples.

Sir, ‘cow’ is a three-letter word. There is another three-letter word which I want to dwell on today. The second letter of this word is also an ‘o’. It is ‘job’.  

 

These are the numbers:

 

  • 25 crore daily wage workers lost employment.
  • 35% of jobs lost in MSME sector and 50% dip in revenue
  • Leather industry in West Bengal collapsed.
  • Auto sales at 16 year low.
  • 40% drop in FMCG sales.
  • Second hand car sales became zero.
  • Closure of 12 lakh powerlooms in Maharashtra.
  • Unprecedented reverse migration as unemployed workers returned to their villages.
  • 1.5 million jobs were lost in the first four months of the year (January-April 2017)

 

Sir, these are the hard numbers. The reality show at midnight will not work. The country wants answers to these numbers. We were all for GST, but we were not in favour of this rushed GST.

There is another issue, and it is bothering me. The BJP and its ministers say one thing, the Prime Minister says one thing. At least the BJP president is consistent – he says one thing and then….

Let me tell you one thing: you are welcome to come to Bengal and I will show you and give you a class on development and communal harmony; polarization will never happen in Bengal.

After GST the prices of the medicines have gone up. Now that I have the attention of the Minister,  I also want him to examine and explore the concept of giving free medicine to the underprivileged, to the poor, to the underserved which we are doing with a great success in Bengal. It is a good model to follow, so think about it.

11. What is the mandate for?

Yesterday, when Behen Mayawati Ji was here, they very arrogantly said, “We have a mandate”. What do you have a Mandate for? Do you have a mandate to do what you’re doing to children (not giving them their food because of their Aadhaar card). Do you have a mandate to indulge in political vendetta and terrorism and turn Facebook into Fakebook? Who has given you a mandate to indulge in tax terrorism through GST which is hurting farmers. Who has given you a mandate to take away my privacy? The minister of IT in the last session assured this House that information given on Aadhaar card is private. Those details – my health details, my personal details – are available today. Yes, you have a Mandate and that works within a framework.

12. Growing Stronger Together

In this great nation of ours – we are 25-27 days away from the 70th anniversary of our Independence – I thought of a story which I read in school. It was a simple story which most of us have probably heard but to me that was a great example from 300 years ago. When Guru Gobind Singh was trying to escape and he had to disguise himself, he was helped by two men – Nabi Khan and Ghani Khan. They disguised him as a Muslim Pir. That’s how Guru Gobind Singh escaped. If Nabi khan and Ghani Khan got caught, then they would have been in trouble.

No matter how many attempts are made by this BJP Government to change this country, Sir, we will not allow it. Because, I have grown up in Calcutta, in a Hindu majority locality, named after a Muslim – it is called ‘Jamir Lane’ – we were a Christian family. Let no one ever try to destroy this, Sir. Marginalised, not marginalised, no body must destroy this.

And we, the Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Di, appeal to all the Opposition parties here. Mr Yechury spoke before me, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad spoke, the Samajwadi Party spoke, the BSP spoke. We will get together, Sir, to GST – Growing Strong Together.

 

Thank You.

 

Centre did not get a mandate for political, financial and social terrorism: Trinamool in Rajya Sabha

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Leader of the AITC Parliamentary Party in Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien today cornered the Centre over the increased crimes against the marginalised in the country. Speaking during a Short Duration Discussion, he questioned whether this Government had got the mandate to unleash political, financial and social terrorism.

Quoting figures, Derek said that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Bengal Finance Minister Dr Amit Mitra had rightly predicted that GDP will be down by 2% as a fallout of demonetisation. He also cited the precarious situation farmers are in, highlighting the adverse effects of demonetisation.

“25 crore daily wage workers lost employment, 35% of jobs have been lost in MSME sector, and there is a 50% dip in revenue.  Leather industry in West Bengal has collapsed.  Auto sales are at a 16-year low. There has been a  40% drop in FMCG sales.  Second hand car sales became zero. 12 lakh powerlooms in Maharashtra have been closed,” he said.

Derek O’Brien accused the Central Government of manipulating data to paint a rosy picture about the economy.

He also took the Government to task over rushing GST implementation. While the BJP was now trying to take credit for GST with ‘midnight reality shows’, they had stalled it for several years. Trinamool has consistently supported GST, but is against the hurried implementation, he maintained.

Derek accused the BJP of spearheading digital terrorism and turning Facebook into Fakebook. Citing the example of Basirhat, he said the troll armies of BJP posted fake pictures from Bangladesh – and even Bhojpuri films – to incite communal tension.

He slammed the Government for denying children mid-day meals for not having Aadhaar cards. He called it ‘child terrorism’. He also said that the Centre was using agencies to hound and harass anyone who speaks against it. He called this ‘political terrorism’.

Derek objected to the term cow vigilantism. “The real term is cow terrorism. Vigilantism implies that the victims of the lynchings were criminal, while in most cases there was no such proof. This is not Gau-raksha but Gau-atank,” he said.

He also reminded the august House that when it comes to development and communal harmony, Bengal was a model to emulate.

 

 

Pratima Mandal speaks on The Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Public-Private Partnership) Bill, 2017

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FULL TRANSCRIPT

Thank you, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to speak on the The Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Public-Private Partnership) Bill, 2017. The Bill proposes to set up Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIIT) in PPP mode.

In this model there will be autonomy in governance that will help in addressing the present challenges faced by the IT industry in our country. It will help in growth of the domestic information technology market including developing new knowledge areas and creating skilled manpower of global markets.

Presently the IT sector is going through turbulent times. Most IT companies are witnessing some notable layouts across the technology sector. This increasing pace of layoffs the number of employees who have lost their jobs are likely to be more compare to last three years. 

The Indian startup ecosystem, along with the big companies, has not been able to save itself from various problems like funding and investments. So it is extremely necessary at this juncture that we create world class education centres to develop skilled manpower in emerging sectors and address this issue.

Four IIITs have been established at Jabalpur, Kanchipuram, Gwalior and Allahabad, which are publicly funded and governed by the IIIT Act, 2014, to provide under-graduate as well as postgraduate education and specialisation in allied areas.

The government proposes to set up 20 IIITs in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode. Presently, 15 functional IIITs in PPP mode are proposed to be declared as institutes of National importance.

The IIIT set up in PPP mode is required to be given statutory status that should enable the Institutes to grant degrees to the students. Every IT Institute shall strive to raise funds for creation of a purpose for self sufficiency, sustainability and future development of this institute. The State Government shall identify at least one industry partner and preferably three industry partners for collaboration and submit a proposal to the Central Government.

The Government hopes that trained personnel from this institution shall fulfill the growing demands for skilled technical manpower in emerging IT sector and the economy as a whole. The institute shall be open to all persons irrespective of gender, caste, creed, disability and domicile and ethnicity, social or economic background. This is indeed a commendable initiative taken by the government.

Establishing IIITs in PPP more and subsequently declaring them as institute of national importance would help in providing vital education to students for research and development and make the way for India becoming a world class leader. These institutes then declared as institutes of national importance are expected to come up as institutes of excellence that would facilitate and promote the competitive advantage of Indian information technology products.

For competing in the global market, IT sector requires developing quality products with leading technologies and competitive advantage. It would be provided with adequate infrastructure, along with their own buildings. Many IIITs, including IIIT, Kalyani in Bengal do not have their own building and occupy rental premises, resulting in operational problems.

Also standardising the fee structure amongst the different IIITs would help in promoting standardisation and equality. I would request the Hon. Human Resource Development Minister to please take all this into consideration.

In this Bill, it is mentioned the investment of capital required to establish the proposed institute will be borne by the Central Government, the concerned State Government and industry partners in the ratio of 60:35:15. The recurring expenditure in the last five of operation will be made available by the Central Government.

I would request the Hon Minister to clarify this point because after the Government provides funds only for five years, they can withdraw the funding. Due to the increase of fees the students cannot get a chance.

We are aware that many talented students are the leaving the country in search for better option to enhance their academic career. Also people get disenchanted with the low results available for their qualifications and experience which compels them to migrate to developed countries in search of better options. To attract this talented pool and encourage them to remain in the country, programmes at such institutions of national importance should be aimed at providing solution to current technical challenges in wide domains like robotics, artificial intelligence, cloud technology, internet of things and automated systems.

They should also offer academic and resource programs that integrate engineering design, manufacturing and management with information technology. World class infrastructure along with competent faculty is a must for these institutions. The information technology and research graduates from these institutions can become entrepreneurs and start their own organisations.

So, I would ask the Government to ensure that the course design, infrastructure and faculty are world class. With these words I would like to request the Honorable Minister to please consider my point as I rest here.

Thank you on behalf of my party.