I believe in religion that teaches you to love all humans: Mamata Banerjee

In a stern message to a section of people who are trying to incite communal tension in the State, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said Bengal is a land of culture and politics of riots has no place here. She urged people to be aware and not pay heed to rumours.

“We believe in religious amity. We do not believe in the politics of riots,” she said.

“I believe in religion that teaches you to love all humans. I participate in Durga Puja, Eid, Christmas as well as Guru Parab. The human body is incomplete without all organs. We must treat all humans equally. A mother can never discriminate between her children,” she added.

The CM said Constitution of India was her guiding principle and it taught her to be tolerant and respectful of people from various backgrounds.

 

যে ধর্ম সকলকে ভালবাসতে শেখায় আমি সেই ধর্মে বিশ্বাসী: মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়

এক শ্রেণীর মানুষ যারা ধর্মের নামে রাজ্যে বিভেদ সৃষ্টি করে বাংলায় অশান্ত পরিবেশ তৈরি করতে চাইছে তাদের কড়া বার্তা দিলেন মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়।

জলপাইগুড়িতে একটি জনসভায় তিনি বলেন, “আমি জাতি-ধর্মের ভেদাভেদে বিশ্বাস করি না, দাঙ্গার রাজনীতিতে বিশ্বাস করি না। উৎসবের সময় বেশ কিছু মানুষ সমস্যার সৃষ্টি করার চেষ্টা করেন।” তিনি জনগণকে সতর্ক হওয়ার পাশাপাশি গুজবে কান না দেওয়ারও আর্জি জানান।

তিনি বলেন, “যে ধর্ম সকলকে ভালবাসতে শেখায় আমি সেই ধর্মে বিশ্বাসী। বাংলায় দুর্বৃত্তদের কোন জায়গা নেই। এ মাটি সংস্কৃতির মাটি।”

“আমি দুর্গা পুজো, ঈদ, ক্রিসমাস, গুরু পরব সবেতেই যোগদান করি। সব অঙ্গ ছাড়া মানব-শরীর অসম্পূর্ণ। আমরা বিশ্বাস করি সব মানুষ সমান। একজন মা কখনও নিজের সন্তানদের মধ্যে বিভেদ করেন না” মুখ্যমন্ত্রী বলেন।

তিনি আরও বলেন, “ভারতের সংবিধান আমাদের সহনশীল হতে শেখায়। সংবিধানই আমাদের পথ দেখায়।”

 

Mamata Banerjee expresses concern over recent happenings in Uttar Pradesh

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today expressed her concern over the recent happenings in Uttar Pradesh. She said that “people are afraid & many are scared about differences over caste, creed & religion.”

The Chief Minister reiterated that “we are all one”. She posted on Twitter: “A government has to be for all. ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ sirf bolna nahi hain, karna hain. We have to do it, to make it meaningful.”

Mamata Banerjee added that “we must all safeguard the Constitution and allow it to guide us.”

 

উত্তর প্রদেশের সাম্প্রতিক ঘটনায় উদ্বেগ প্রকাশ মুখ্যমন্ত্রীর

উত্তর প্রদেশের সাম্প্রতিক কিছু ঘটনায় উদ্বেগ প্রকাশ করলেন মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়। তিনি বলেন, মানুষ আজ ভীত। জাতি, ধর্মের ভেদাভেদের কারণে অনেকেই আতঙ্কিত। মনে রাখতে হবে আমরা সবাই এক।”

তিনি টুইটারে বলেন, “সরকারের দায়িত্ব সকলের পাশে দাঁড়ানো। ‘সবকা সাথ, সবকা বিকাশ’ শুধু বললেই হবে না, কাজে করে দেখাতে হবে।”

মুখ্যমন্ত্রী আরও বলেন যে সবার উচিত সংবিধানের গরিমা রক্ষা করা যাতে আগামী দিনে সংবিধান আমাদের পাথেয় হতে পারে।

Bengal CM protests against Centre’s attempt to bypass federal structure

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written a letter to the Prime Minister protesting against the Government’s decision to transfer the funds for the 100 Day’s Work Scheme, bypassing the State administration.
Copies of the letter have been sent to the non-BJP State Governments which are opposed to the Centre.

The Centre’s decision to deposit the wages under the 100-days work scheme directly to the beneficiaries’ bank accounts bypassing the State Government is perceived to be an unwarranted encroachment on the States’ rights and is violative of the federal spirit of the Constitution. This has been strongly resented by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The Chief Minister criticised the Centre for unwanted inference in different State matters. She said that the Centre is doing video-conferences with State Chief Secretaries bypassing the Chief Minister. There should be a protest against such practices, she said on Friday after sending the letter of protest.

 

 

যুক্তরাষ্ট্রীয় কাঠামোয় হস্তক্ষেপের প্রতিবাদে কেন্দ্রকে চিঠি দিলেন মুখ্যমন্ত্রী

১০০ দিনের কাজ-সহ বিভিন্ন কেন্দ্রীয় প্রকল্পে রাজ্যকে এড়িয়ে যাওয়ার প্রতিবাদে এবার প্রধানমন্ত্রীকে চিঠি দিলেন মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়৷ চিঠিতে মুখ্যমন্ত্রী বলেছেন, গণতন্ত্রে রাজ্যের ভূমিকা বৃহত্তর৷ তা কখনোই এড়িয়ে যাওয়া যায় না৷

কেন্দ্রের পাঠানো টাকা রাজ্য বাজেটের মাধ্যমে খরচের. পক্ষে সওয়াল করেছেন মুখ্যমন্ত্রী৷ সরাসরি উপভোক্তাদের অ্যাকাউন্টে টাকা পাঠানো গণতন্ত্রের উপর আক্রমণ বলে মনে করেন মমতা৷ কেন্দ্রীয় সরকারের সিদ্ধান্তের প্রতিবাদে প্রধানমন্ত্রী নরেন্দ্র মোদিকে পাঠানো চিঠির প্রতিলিপি সমস্ত অ-বিজেপি মুখ্যমন্ত্রীকে পাঠানো হয়েছে৷

রাজনৈতিক মহলের মতে, কেন্দ্রের বঞ্চনার বিরুদ্ধে মমতা যে লড়াইয়ে নামতে চলেছেন সেই বার্তা আরও স্পষ্ট হল৷ অ-বিজেপি দলগুলিকে নিয়ে তিনি ইতিমধ্যে কেন্দ্রের বিরুদ্ধে লড়াইয়ের বার্তা দিয়েছেন৷ বিভিন্ন ইস্যুতে বিজেপি বিরোধী দলগুলিকে ঐক্যবদ্ধ হওয়ার ডাক দিয়েছেন মমতা৷

কয়েকদিন আগেই নবান্নে সাংবাদিক সম্মেলন করে কেন্দ্রীয় সরকারের নীতির বিরুদ্ধে সরব হয়েছিলেন মমতা৷ উল্লেখ্য, কেন্দ্র সম্প্রতি সিদ্ধান্ত নিয়েছে, একশো দিনের কাজ-সহ বিভিন্ন প্রকল্পে রাজ্য আর টাকা পাবে না৷ তা সরাসরি উপভোক্তাদের কাছে চলে যাবে৷ তা নিয়ে দিল্লিতে গিয়ে সরব হয়েছেন রাজ্যের অর্থমন্ত্রী অমিত মিত্র৷ এবার প্রধানমন্ত্রীকে চিঠি পাঠিয়ে প্রতিবাদ জানালেন মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়।

 

Nobody can dictate what to wear or eat: Mamata Banerjee at Furfura Sharif

West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee today slammed the divisive forces in the country and the growing intolerance in India. She said no one has the right to dictate others what to eat or what to wear. Making a strong case for freedom of religion, she said that unity is strength and divisiveness spells doom.

Speaking at an event on the occasion of Minority Rights Day at Furfura Sharif, WB CM said under her government the budget of minority affairs department had increased five fold. “Few days ago a delegation of our MPs visited the Union Minister of Minority Affairs. They asked her to increase quota for scholarships,” she added.

WB CM announced the formation of Furfura Sharif Development Authority headed by Firhad Hakim. She allotted Rs 10 crore for the working of the board.

“Everybody has a right to religion. You can practice your faith freely. Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Isaai. Apas mein rehna bhai bhai,” the Chief Minister said.

Mamata Banerjee added: “We do not support Dadri killing. It is my right to eat fish. You can eat whichever meat you want. Some people wanted meat ban in Bengal during Durga Puja. I asked them will you ask a ban on fish? Don’t vegetables have life? Even plants have life. Will you ask people to stop eating vegetables? You eat what you want. Let others eat what they want.”

Vocally supporting the idea of ‘Sarva Dharma Samanyay’ she said, “Some people call their mother Ma, some call her Ammi. You cannot divide your mother. This is what Ramakrishna preached.”

In her speech, WB CM also listed the various initiatives by her government for minority development:

  • We have initiated several schemes worth Rs 75 crore at Furfura Sharif
  • We have increased budget for minority department five fold from Rs 470 Cr to Rs 2400 Cr
  • The Left distributed scholarships to 8 lakh minority students in last 4 years. We distributed scholarships to 84 lakh students
  • We have started Aliah University. Over 10000 people from Bengal went for Haj pilgrimage
  • We have introduced reservation for OBCs and minorities without touching general category
  • We have given computers to madrassahs. We are ready to recognise unaided madrassahs but we are unable to pay their salaries
  • Polytechnic colleges and ITIs are coming up. We are setting up Karma Tirthas where the youth will get jobs
  • We have built several hostels for students. We have built Minority Bhavan in 17 districts
  • We have given second language status to Urdu. We have set up Urdu Academy
  • We have instituted a Chair after Iqbal at Aliah University. He penned “Saare Jahaan Se Achha”

Nadimul Haque speaks on India-Nepal relations

Sir, the new Constitution of Nepal promises an era peace and progress in a democratic and federal structure. However, the Madhesis and the Tharus, residents of Terai region, have been protesting to the provisions of the Constitution related to political representation, citizenship and inclusion.

Sir, while we cannot ignore our centuries-old relationship with Nepal, we must also consider the fact that Madhesis and Tharus have social, cultural and religious links with Indians living across the border. The interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007 provided for proportionate representation of Madhesis and other such groups in the state organs. But the present Constitution does not provide such options.

The present Constitutions says that only citizens by descent will be eligible to hold public offices like President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice, Chief Secretary etc. This clause may have a discriminatory effect on Madhesis, many of whom have acquired citizenship by naturalisation.

Citizenship by naturalisation is mainly acquired by those who are born to a Nepali parent and a foreigner. Typically, Madhesis tend to marry people from the Indo-Nepal border. As my colleague was saying that ‘roti-beti ka rishta hai’.

Sir, in demarcating the seven provincial boundaries, their Constitution has merged 12 out of the 20 districts of the Terai region with various Hill provinces. The Madhesis and Tharus are arguing that this would allow the Hill districts to dominate in the provinces and deprive them of resources.

Sir, in light of this issue, India expressed concerns after the protests in October, 2015. Also at United Nations Human Rights Council, in November, 2015, India had recommended that the Government of Nepal should accommodate all sections of Nepal in the Constitution building process.

It is pertinent to mention that before raising emerging issues of Indo-Nepal relations in an international forum, it would have been better for our government to continue the process of dialogue with Government of Nepal, keeping in mind the long-standing, friendly bilateral relations between the two countries; even China has started fishing in troubled waters.

Sir, India and Nepal have arguments with regard to trade and commerce, sharing of river waters, energy cooperation, investment protection etc India has also exported petroleum products, motor vehicles, spare parts etc to the tune of around Rs 28000 crore whereas it has imported polyester yarns, textiles, jutes and other products for around Rs 4000 crore in 2014-15. It is therefore a mutual interest that both countries should explore all means to resolve the contentious issues; the sooner it is done the better it would be better for both the countries.

Sir, Nepal shares its borders with five Indian states. These are West Bengal, Sikkim, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Bengal shares its border with three countries. These are Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. Sir, on a side note it has to be noted that this is a very sensitive area and any cut in state funding is also affecting police modernisation in this area. But I am coming back to the larger issue, Sir.

There are large numbers of people of Nepalese origin who reside both permanently and temporarily in India, particularly in these five states in a conducive atmosphere of amity and fraternity. The Madhesis in Nepal are our brothers and we should have a duty towards them.

In this background, we welcome the meeting between our Minister of External Affairs with the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Nepal recently where discussion were held on 4 key issues concerning:

  1. Constituency de-limitation
  2. Political representation
  3. Citizenship
  4. Demarcation of provinces

Sir, my party sincerely hopes and believes that considering the warmth exuded by the Indian Government during the April, 2015 earthquake in Nepal, a similar gesture would be extended by the Government of Nepal for betterment of relations with India.

Sir, I rest my case.

Derek O’Brien speaks on the 125th birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar

Sir, kayee saal pehle, main Pakistan giya tha. Wahan mere Pakistani dost ne poocha, “Pichlay paanch hazaar saalon main, woh kaun si ek kitaab hai jo sabse samaaveshi, adarshvaadi aur samtavaadi hai?”

Sir, my Hindi was so bad I could not answer his question. So he tried the same words in Urdu and my Urdu is almost zero. The exact words he used were “Sabse aala, yak tab kati aur sabse jamah.” I did not have the answer.

Sir, so he asked the same question in English. My Pakistan friend asked which is the most inclusive, most idealistic, most egalitarian book written in the last 5000 years. And, he answered in Urdu – Dastoor-e-Hind. Bharat ka Samvidhaan, the Constitution of India.

Sir, this simple story pays our Constitution a great compliment. Today is not the day to try and be regional. I was very tempted to start by saying that the first four signatures, if you look at the draft of the Constitution, were those of Dr Sarat Chandra Bose, Dr BR Ambedkar, Kiran Shankar Roy and the great lawyer, Frank Anthony. The first four names were all sent to the Constituent Assembly from the State of Bengal, where I come from.

Sir, the Americans have the shortest Constitution of four thousand odd words. We have the longest Constitution in the world – one lakh 11 thousand 369 words. That’s a lot of words, Sir. We were the twenty-fifth country to get a Constitution and we would have inspired one hundred and fifty after us who got their constitutions.

Sir, but more than the words, sometimes films tend to capture the mood even better. Sir, 15 years ago, there was a very nice film made on Dr Ambedkar. It was a biopic and if you look through the credits of that film, the screenwriter of that film was Sooni Taraporevala, from the minority Parsi community. The director of the film was a staunch Hindu from Maharashtra – Jabbar Patel, and the role of Ambedkar was played by the legendary Muslim Malayalee actor, Mammooty. I must say that sometimes films have their own stories to tell.

And, before I move on to make some specific comments on the Constitution, how we fared in the last 65 years, we would also like to recall, on the behalf of the Trinamool Congress, on this happy occasion, the tremendous contribution Dr Ambedkar has had beyond the Constitution. For one, the Ph D thesis he wrote was the basis of the Finance Commission today. A paper he wrote is the basis of the RBI and the book, The Problem of the Rupee is the outline of the guidelines for the RBI Act.

Sir, this is a great occasion to celebrate, this is a great occasion to commemorate, but I think this is a great occasion also for, some reflection.

Sir, there are two points which I wish to leave behind here. Sir, twenty years before the Constitution, the great Mulk Raj Anand wrote a book which we had read in school called Untouchable. Sir, Mulk Raj Anand’s story, written in the 1930s, told us a story about a day in the life of Bakha. Bakha was a young man from an ‘untouchable’ caste. Like generations of his ancestors before him, Bakha had no choice but to follow the caste of his ancestors and the occupation of his ancestors. So what did he have to do? He had to scrape the latrines of human faeces and the way this was done, it had to be first scraped and then put on to a basket on his head and invariably, some of those lumps of faeces would fall on his body.

Sir, could there be a more accursed occupation? Could there be a worst way to be condemned for life? Sir, the injustice which Mulk Raj Anand described was made even worse because the people in the community where Bakha would do his cleaning wouldn’t pay him much money and even shrink from his touch. Sir, the reason I bring this story of Mulk Raj Anand up today is because it has been 68 years since Independence, and 85 years since this book was written, but there are still more than one million Bakhas, one million manual scavengers in this country.

Sir, this is a reason to reflect, a reason to pause. Here, in the Rajya Sabha, as we debate, deliberate, legislate and sometimes, agitate, perhaps this is a reason to contemplate.

Sir, the second reflection is on the work ethics of the Constituent Assembly. Sir, they prepared this monumental document in two years, 11 months and 17 days, that is, under three years. How are we doing with our work ethic?

Sir, it has been 19 years and the Women’s Reservation Bill is still pending here, Sir. There are two ways of looking at it, Sir. You stand up and make a speech and say yes, we want the reservation bill, or you act. And, I think, we in the Trinamool Congress acted. We have 35% women members in the Lok Sabha – 12 out of 34. And we will urge more political parties across the spectrum, don’t wait for the Reservation Bill, but act. It’s the same with the GST. The Constitution took three years to do; the GST is taking us four years.

Sir, let us move on to something that the Leader of the House had spoken about and many esteemed speakers before me have referred to in the debates on the Constituent Assembly, and the great work which was done.

Sir, I want to go one step back. How was the Constituent Assembly formed in the first place in July-August, 1946? If you go back to the British Government of India Act 1935, the State legislatures had their own representations. Now, in 1946-47, when the Constituent Assembly was formed, these were indirectly elected from the States. That is why, all these great men and women, who were a part of this writing the Constitution were indirectly elected members. So, in a way they were precursors of this Rajya Sabha. That is the very basis of this Constitution. So, one gets very disturbed and saddened that a lawyer and an eloquent speaker like the Leader of the House, outside the House, makes statements demeaning this Rajya Sabha.

To quote the Leader of the House – “It is a serious question in a parliamentary democracy wherein bill after bill, the wisdom of a directly elected house is questioned by the indirectly elected house”.

I have to tell, through you Sir, to the Leader of the House, please do not indulge in ‘cowboy constitutionalism’. This is ‘cowboy constitutionalism’, because it does not suit you now. Because your party has fewer numbers than what you want to in the Rajya Sabha, you go back and question the basic foundation of our Constitution. Sir, this is ‘cowboy constitutionalism’ at its worst and this Government is getting a reputation for indulging ‘cowboy constitutionalism’.

Sir the second example of ‘cowboy constitutionalism’, I want to give you is, the number of ordinances which have been passed since Independence. For every 10 Bills passed and made into an Act under Pandit Nehru, one was an ordinance. You come to the 1970s, the Janata Party, for every 10 Bills passed, 1.6 Bills were an ordinance. You come to the UPA-I and II, for every 10 Bills passed, 1.9 Bills were an ordinance. What do the numbers say for NDA? In the last 15 months, for every 10 Bills passed, 3 were ordinances. The message is clear, stop indulging in ‘cowboy constitutionalism’.

Sir, battles over history are not uncommon in healthy democracy. So, when the leader of the Communist Party India, Marxist accuses the far right to worm their way into the Constitution, perhaps someone should first hold a mirror for him. Mr Yechury spoke in detail and looked for a certificate, which he finally got from the President of India in 1992, talking about the role of the Left. We all know, who read our history, what the Left were doing in’47, what the communists were doing after that in 1962. But I don’t want to indulge in rhetoric.

I have a quote here from a book Different Paths, One Goal: Communists and the Quit India Struggle. Four lines from EMS Namboodiripad and I quote from his book – “It is true that we did not participate in the struggle… we did commit the serious mistake of denouncing the leaders and participants in the Quit India struggle as agents of world fascism and Japanese militarism”.

This is one quote from no less a leader than Mr Namboodiripad. So, when I hear these stories about nationalism and the BJP trying to worm their way into the Constitution and the Freedom Movement, everyone is qualified to talk about it, but certainly not the Communist Party of India, Marxist.

Sir, in 1948, after the Constituent Assembly was formed and the drafting began, as we read in the history books, most of the drafting was done from 1948 to 1949, and the famous speech was made by Dr Ambedkar in November 1949. Sir, on the 30th January, 1948, a sad incident, a tragic incident occurred, one about which Pandit Nehru said, “the light has gone out of our lives.”

Sir, a few weeks after that incident, the then Home Minister of India, Vallabhbhai Patel, took a decision. What was his decision, Sir? He banned the RSS. This is very interesting. So even though the Communists had someone in the drafting committing making a few points or what I don’t know, but the RSS was banned in 1948.

Today is a great occasion where we need to find out what is the ideology in place – either we follow A or we follow B. I’ll come to B later. I have a quote here, Sir. This one is from Guru Golwalkar’s We, a Nationhood Defined: (only five lines, Sir, and this is quote from the book):

“The non-Hindu people in Hindustan must either adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and revere Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but the glorification of Hindu nation…they must cease to be foreigners or may stay in the country wholly subordinated to the Hindu nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, for less any preferential treatment, not even the citizen’s rights.”

Sir, these are not my words, these are Guru Golwalkar’s words. Now you come to September 2002. Another ideologue, or a modern-day ideologue, doesn’t have the same stature of, maybe, Guru Golwalkar. Sir, this is September 2002. I’m not getting into the details of 2002, not a good occasion, Sir, but this is the quote: “In India, Hindutva has more legitimacy than the Constitution,” S Gurumurthy, September 2002.

Sir, we did not hear these voices for ten-twelve years. These voices have again come up and come up and come up. But there is good news. In September 2014, just about 300 something days agao, Mamata Banerjee made a statement on the Constitution: “The Constitution is the only holy book of this great nation.”

On November 27, the Prime Minster said that the Constitution is the “only holy book” for this government. I wasn’t hearing his campaign speeches but I was hearing his Lok Sabha speech. Sir, the Prime Minister is here this afternoon to speak on this debate. This is a great and momentous occasion for him to either tell us whether he believes in A or B. Because A and B cannot work together, Sir. They cannot go together; they are miles and miles apart.

Sir, if you look through the Constitution, all one lakh eleven thousand words, you can’t find the word ‘federalism.’ It’s never mentioned there, Sir. But the first article clearly talks about India, that is, Bharat shall be a union of states.

Sir, we’ve already had so many debates on federalism, but I want to give one example only, and it is a pity that Mayawati is not here today because I thought of this only after she spoke. Devolution of funds. Twenty six funds, either they have been reduced, or the percentage between the Centre and the States have been flipped around. And for eight schemes, the Centre has stopped funding the States.

I don’t want to go into a technical accounting debate. One example is the BRGF, the Backward Regions Grant Fund. Sir, if you look, that has been stopped completely. Sir, in rural areas, 56% schedules castes/schedules tribes, 40% OBCs are beneficiaries of this scheme. On one hand you are celebrating Dr Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, and on the other hand you are taking away BRGF which is for the SCs, STs and OBCs. Sir, in the urban areas, there are 47% SC/ST, 9% OBC. So there are so many points in federalism – the NITI Aayog, the Planning Commission, the Prime Minister sometimes calling up the Chief Secretary, but let’s not bring the debate down with those details, suffice to say, talk about cooperative federalism but on the ground, stick to operative federalism.

Sir, my next point is secularism. Sir, if you go back to the origin of this word, it comes from Latin or Greek. In Latin or Greek, ‘seculum’ basically means that which is not church, or that which was not religion; anything of the world which was not about the church.

Sir, and we’ve got into a debate; the Home Minister made a statement on the floor of the Lok Sabha, and there have been countless statements which have been made outside. Sir, but what was missed out that day, the same day, the highest law officer of the land, three times when he read the Preamble or referred to the Preamble, in his speech on law day, he did not use the word ‘secularism’ or ‘secular.’ Was that a mistake? Was that the fringe or was that the mainstream? And the danger here is that the line separating the fringe and the mainstream are blurring, Sir. I propose, in the resolution which comes here, Sir, to please include the word ‘pluralism’, because that is very, very important.

Sir, the leader of the House took me back to history class, very interestingly, and I quote: “when constitutional systems are used to subvert the Constitution,” and he gave us the example of the Weimer Republic and Germany; step 1 – burn the Reichstag, Parliament, step 2 – muzzle the media, step 3 – lock up the opponents, step 4 – economic agenda.” Yes, I know he was alluding to the 1970s and some of my friends here may be a little queasy in their seats, but that is history, Sir. What caused us more concern was when he said about step 1, parliament hatao, step 2, muzzle the media; I think this was a perhaps the subconscious mind coming to light and that is why, perhaps, this Weimer Republic part of the Constitution is so stuck in the head. Is this a plan? But thankfully, this plan got scuttled after what happened in Bihar, and that’s why we’re here, Sir.

Sir, in conclusion, as our young men and women go across the world and make ourselves proud, we too, when we were making our Constitution, took so many ideas from across the world. The concepts of liberty, equality and fraternity were taken from the French; the concept of directive principles was taken from the Irish; some of the judicial concepts were taken from Japan, the concept of federalism was taken from Canada and Australia, and the Soviet Union gave us the Planning Commission. So this is beautiful, Sir.

Sir, I want to leave you with the thought; let me leave you with a constructive suggestion (because otherwise the cynicism of having this two- three day debate will always be there). Sir, for our young people between 18 and 30 (so they don’t feel we are only coming here and making speeches, and referring to a one lakh 13 thousand-word book, and not living the book, not breathing the reality), is a positive suggestion: next year, Sir, before we make our speeches, we propose to have, a CAM – Constituent Assembly Module. Set it up in Delhi, let young people between the ages of 18 and 30 come there and actually experience this module, where they can actually take up issues and discuss these issues, see how legislation is done.

Sir, this is an idea we want to leave behind, because as we say, Sir, we have to learn from the past, experience the present and prepare for the future.

Thank you, Sir.

 

 

 

Derek slams BJP for ‘cowboy constitutionalism’

Leader of the Trinamool Congress in Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien today slammed the BJP for its ‘cowboy constitutionalism’. He was speaking during a special discussion on the occasion of 125th birth anniversary year of Dr BR Ambedkar and Constitution Day.

He slammed Arun Jaitley, the Leader of the House, for his disparate remarks about the legality of Rajya Sabha. Citing the example of how the Constituent Assembly was indirectly elected by State Legislatures, Derek said that this was a precursor to the Rajya Sabha.

Spree of Ordinances

Derek O’Brien went on to take on the spree of Ordinances under the current government. “For every ten Bills passed, the number of Ordinances under Pandit Nehru was one, during Janata Party rule it was 1.2. During the UPA 2 regime, 1.9 Ordinances were passed for every ten Bills. In the last 18 months, the number has gone up to three. This is another instance of cowboy constitutionalism of the BJP,” he said.

Actions not words

Highlighting the fact that the Constituent Assembly drafted the Constitution in less than three years, Derek rued the fact that several key bills, like Women’s Reservation Bill, were pending now for decades. “It is time for action. Trinamool Congress believes in action. 35% (12 out of 34) of our MPs in Lok Sabha are women,” he said.

Secularism debate

Speaking about secularism, Derek said that the line separating the fringe and the mainstream was fast blurring. Voices of divisiveness, which had gone silent for the last 10-12 years, were speaking up again. “We have to decide which idea of India we will adopt,” he said while slamming the divisive ideology of Guru Gowalkar. He quoted Mamata Banerjee, who in December, 2014, had said, “The Constitution is the only holy book of this great nation.”

Federalism

Derek O’Brien slammed the Centre on the issue of federalism. “On one hand you celebrate the birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar and on the other hand you cut funds for BRGF which benefits backward castes,” he said. He raised the issue of devolution of funds and criticised the Centre’s decision to delink funds for 8 schemes and tinkering with funds for 24 other schemes.

Constructive suggestion

While concluding his speech Derek gave a constructive suggestion of setting up of CAM (Constituent Assembly Modules) where young students can participate and share their ideas.

 

Click here for the full transcript

Trinamool calls for preserving the spirit of Constitution in Parliament

Trinamool Congress today called for preserving the spirit of the Constitution of India in the Parliament. Through their passionate speeches in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively, Kalyan Banerjee and Sukhendu Sekhar Roy paid rich tributes to the chief architect of the Constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar.

In his speech, Kalyan Banerjee advised the Centre not to play the ‘Big Brother’ and treat the States as junior. Making a strong case for federalism, he said, “Funding for a large number of centrally-sponsored schemes, without consulting state govt, have been delinked. States were not taken into confidence before imposing Swachh Bharat cess. It is a burden on people and against federal structure.”

He also said that secularism means equality of all religions. It has been given a place of pride in the Constitution.

“Mother Teresa said “God has not called me to be successful but faithful”. After 65 years we must assess how much faithful to Const we are,” Kalyan Banerjee submitted.

In the Upper House of the Parliament, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy quoted Tagore’s verses to drive home the point about fulfilling the spirit of Constitution.

“Authority has been given by Constitution framers not to misuse them but to serve the nation. All forms of authoritarianism must be avoided,” he said.

Speaking on federalism, he said, “If govt is serious about cooperative federalism, it must implement the Punchi Commission report.” He also highlighted the rising instances of intolerance in the country.

Quoting the President of India on rising intolerance in the country, SS Roy called for introspection why the first citizen of the country was compelled to make such a statement.

“If we wish to preserve the Constitution, let us resolve let us not be turdy in recognition of the evils that lie in our path,” he added.

On the issue of secularism, Dr Roy quoted Babasaheb Ambedkar: “State is neither religious not anti-religious. It is totally detached from religion”.

Incidentally, the West Bengal Government has decided to observe 30 December as ‘Ambedkar Diwas’.

 

Full transcript of Kalyan Banerjee’s speech.

Full transcript of SS Roy’s speech.

Sudip Bandyopadhyay bats for tolerance in Lok Sabha

Speaking in Lok Sabha during a special sitting to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar, the leader of the party in Lok Sabha, Sudip Bandyopadhyay today asked the Prime Minister to rise to the occasion and act against the incidents of intolerance in the country.

“Every citizen have the right to practice their own religion. Few incidents are sending out a negative image of the country,” he said.

The Kolkata Uttar MP added, “People like Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan, A R Rahman, Mithun Chakraborty are feeling unsafe in their own country. We must find the cause.”

“This is the country of Sri Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa Deb and Swami Vivekananda. We must show tolerance. Sri Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa said ‘Joto Mot, Toto Poth’ (As Many Opinions, That Many Ways). We must respect this spirit,” said Sudip Banerjee.

He also showered praises on Dr BR Ambedkar, the chief architect of our Constitution who was elected to the Constituent Assembly from Bengal. He said Ambedkar was a revivor of Buddhism in India and a social engineer.

We should unequivocally lodge our protests from the Parliament against the incidents of intolerance, Sudip Bandyopadhyay advised the Prime Minister while concluding his speech.

 

Full transcript of his speech here

Ahmed Hassan speaks on the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2014 | Transcript

The whole process of reservation for scheduled castes (SC) and including them in the list has a long history. Gandhiji devoted his whole life for the untouchables’ right to enter temples. Our Constitution eliminated untouchability from the country. The main drafting was done by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar who was a champion of SCs, and then for the first time reservation was included.

  • This Bill seeks to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 and the Constitution (Dadra and Nagar Haveli) Scheduled Castes Order, 1962.

 

  • It adds new communities to the list of scheduled castes in Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. It updates the name Uttaranchal to Uttarakhand in this list.

 

The socio-economic and caste surveys being conducted by the Ministry of Rural Development and the Ministry of Urban Development must be completed at the earliest so that the Government can easily determine which communities should be included or excluded from the list of scheduled castes. This has also been recommended by the Standing Committee.

The Committee also pointed out that while several new communities have been added to the list of scheduled castes, the percentage of reservation has remained the same. The government must revisit its reservation policy.

In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has started a new scheme called Sikshashree, aimed at the social upliftment of SCs, STs and OBCs by providing financial assistance to students of classes V-VIII. The West Bengal Government has distributed 9.5 lakh caste certificates in 2013 alone, whereas the previous government had distributed 8.11 lakh caste certificates in 2009 and 2010 combined. In the last three years, the Bengal government has extended the facility of scholarships to almost 84 lakh students belonging to SCs, STs and other backward classes.

Welfare of SCs, STs and other backward classes is an affirmative action taken by the State to remove the persistent or present, and continuing, effects of past discrimination on particular segments of society. I would ask the Government to re-look at the funds allocated for this cause.