August 12, 2015
Dinesh Trivedi speaks in Lok Sabha on the Adjournment Motion | Full Transcript
Madam, I thank you very much for giving me this opportunity. This is a temple of democracy, and this temple of democracy, as far as we are concerned in TMC, is perhaps much higher that all the temples which we go to.
Madam iis mandir me charcha ka koi vikalp nahi hain. I have no doubt that all of us would share this sentiment and you have tried your best also. I personally feel that whenever it comes to corruption, Trinamool Congress and our leader Mamata Banerjee have always been found to be fighting that.
There is no question of ‘this side versus that side’, lot of us are very senior members of Parliament, and today, I can tell you that I am also pained as most of us would have been. I have been a Member of Parliament from Rajya Sabha and from here from 1990. I have never seen this kind of acrimony, and I hope and pray that this would be perhaps the last.
Why do I say this? I say this because these issues are very important. The entire country and perhaps the entire world is looking at India because we are very proud of our freedom, we are very proud of our democracy. The world is looking at India because India has taken the lead in the world’s stability.
My colleague and our parliamentary party leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay, in the All-Party Meeting very kindly called by you several times to make sure that we get out of this impasse, suggested to please accept the motion and go ahead with the debate. But unfortunately that did not happen. Madam there is another issue of Vyapam. Sudip Bandyopadyay had also given notices of adjournment on that. The issue is equally serious and people also want certain clarification.
Madam I do not think that I need to really go in further because a lot of things have already been spoken about. I do not think we have anything of add to whatever has been spoken but yes in conclusion I will tell you that this is the highest temple and in a democracy there cannot be anything higher than this august House and the Rajya Sabha.
Madam we do not live by legality alone, we live by the perception of the people of the country also. And we have got to be equally concerned about what is the perception, what is the propriety. I don’t think so it would be fair for me to say that we sit on somebody’s judgment. The biggest court for us is the people of India.
But it is equally important that the matters which are seen by the country, we debate like we perhaps are debating now with a very calm and silent state of affairs. I just hope and pray that in future we will have debates which are also such that people of this country want to listen.
Thank you very much for having given me the opportunity.
