Tag: Derek O Brien

2016 Winter Session of Parliament: Centre refuses Oppn’s just demands, leading to disruptions

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All through the 2016 Winter Session of Parliament, the Opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress, demanded discussion on demonetisation, the draconian decision that the Central Government had thrust on the people of the country.

However, the ruling dispensation repeatedly refused to heed this just demand from the Opposition parties, leading to constant disruptions.

The Trinamool Congress cornered the Centre over the issue of demonetisation in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha right from the opening week.

On the opening day, that is, November 16, Trinamool Congress parliamentarians from both houses of Parliament staged a demonstration outside the Parliament in New Delhi, opposing the move of demonetisation by the Centre and demanding its rollback.

On the third day too, that is, November 18, too, the party’s MPs from both the Houses assembled near the Gandhi statue outside Parliament to stage a dharna, highlighting the plight of the common people due to demonetisation.

Trinamool Congress was the first political party to give a notice of suspension in the Rajya Sabha.

On November 17, in the Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien demanded voting after discussion on the issue of demonetisation. He said, “We think that beyond the debate there should be a voting”.

On the same day, in the Lok Sabha, Sudip Bandyopadhyay moved an Adjournment Motion under Rule 56 on the issue. He said, “Let this decision be withdrawn temporarily to chalk out a final plan”.

On November 18, Sudip Bandyopadhyay once again demanded a discussion under Rule 56 to censure the Central Government on demonetisation.

The second week of the 2016 Winter Session of Parliament was quite eventful. On November 24, Derek O’Brien in the Rajya Sabha gave a scathing reply to the Centre’s decision on demonetisation, outlining the hardships that the people of the country have been facing for the last 15 days (since demonetisation).

A day earlier, Sudip Bandyopadhyay in the Lok Sabha, as the voice of the united Opposition, had demanded a discussion on the issue of demonetisation under Rule 56, which entails voting after the debate.

On November 23, the opposition parties represented in Parliament, including Trinamool Congress, had staged a joint protest against the Government’s decision on demonetisation at the statue of Gandhi Ji inside the Parliament complex.

On November 25, Derek O’Brien strongly criticised the attitude of the Centre towards those who oppose its views and policies: “I said this in the House yesterday. If we oppose the Government’s policy it does not mean we are in favour of corruption”. He also asked for the Prime Minister to come to the Rajya Sabha and apologise for his comments earlier in the morning. He said, “Does the Prime Minister think he alone is a saint and we are all devils? The Prime Minister must come to the House and apologise”.

On the same day, Sudip Bandyopadhyay also came down severely on the Prime Minister’s insult to those opposing the draconian decision of demonetisation through his comments earlier that day. As he said, “On a day when we are trying to find a solution as to how the House can function, the Prime Minister has made comments that have hurt the Opposition. We demand that the Prime Minister withdraws his comments and apologises for the comments he has made”.

The third week of the 2016 Winter Session of Parliament saw the major Opposition parties demanding discussions on demonetisation and the presence of the Prime Minister during those debates as well.

Two major incidents were brought to the notice of the Parliament by the Trinamool Congress.

On the last day of the week, December 2, there was a furore in both Houses of Parliament over the issue of the sudden deployment of the Army in 19 places in Bengal, without discussing with the State Government.

In the Rajya Sabha, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy gave a notice under Rule 267 (suspension of business) and raised the issue, which was supported by all Opposition parties.

During the discussion, Derek O’Brien, the Leader of the Party in the Rajya Sabha, raised a Point of Order regarding the placing of selective documents by the Minister regarding the role of the Army.

Sudip Bandyopadhyay, the Leader of the Party in the Lok Sabha, raised the same issue.

A day before, on December 1, Derek O’Brien had demanded an enquiry to be instituted by the Government on the issue of the flight carrying Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee being denied immediate permission to land at Kolkata Airport, despite the pilot reporting the plane being short on fuel.

Sukhendu Sekhar Roy in the Rajya Sabha had made an important intervention after the Minister’s reply on the issue of the flight snag.

Sudip Bandyopadhyay had taken up the same issue in the Lok Sabha.

Earlier, on November 28, Sudip Bandyopadhyay had demanded the adoption of Adjournment Motion to enable discussion on demonetisation.

The next day, November 29, saw Sudip Bandyopadhyay asking for the clubbing of the discussions on demonetisation and the amendments brought in the Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016, since the latter is related to demonetisation.

On the same day, Saugata Roy in the Lok Sabha demanded a full-fledged discussion on the Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016, strongly criticising the Government’s decision to pass the Bill in a hasty manner.

On November 30, Derek O’Brien, demanded the presence of the Prime Minister in the Rajya Sabha during the debate on demonetisation.

Sukhendu Sekhar Roy in the Rajya Sabha gave a Notice under Rule 267, asking the Chairman to enable the House to make obituary references for the army jawans killed in clashes with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir and for the people who had died as a consequence of the implementation of demonetisation.

In the Lok Sabha, on November 30, Sudip Bandyopadhyay again pressed the Speaker to grant the Opposition’s demand for a discussion on demonetisation, followed by voting.

Later in the day, Derek O’Brien demanded the Prime Minister withdraws his remarks on the Opposition outside Parliament before the debate on demonetisation can begin.

In the Lok Sabha, Sudip Bandyopadhyay repeated his earlier demand of the discussion on demonetisation to be taken up, along with voting.

Trinamool Congress staged a series of protests at the Parliament complex all through the fourth week of the Winter Session to protest against demonetisation.

December 8 was celebrated as Black Day by Opposition parties, being the completion of one month since the decision of demonetisation was announced. Members of Parliament from Trinamool Congress as well as other parties in the Opposition staged a protest at Parliament.

On the first day of the fourth week, December 5, Trinamool Congress staged a protest against demonetisation and its ill-effects at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi inside the Parliament complex.

On Friday, December 9, another protest was staged by Trinamool Congress MPs outside Parliament, who displayed a banner carrying the full list of names of the 93 people who have died so far as a consequence of demonetisation, while waiting in queues outside banks and ATMs.

Inside Parliament, the first day of session during this week, that is, December 5, saw Sudip Bandyopadhyay asking the Speaker of the Lok Sabha to enable the initiation of the discussion on demonetisation as early as possible, asking why the Government is shirking from a discussion time and again.

On December 7, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy in the Rajya Sabha raised a Point of Order regarding a BJP leader from Bengal being caught with lakhs of cash and arms.

On December 8, he asked the Deputy Chairman inside the House that the Rajya Sabha be allowed to mourn the tragic deaths due to demonetisation.

Sukhendu Sekhar Roy raised the issue of mourning the deaths once again on December 9.

Through the week, Congress had given a Notice for discussion under Rule 184 and the Trinamool Congress under Rule 56, while some others wanted it to take place under Rule 193.

On December 9, even a No Rule discussion on demonetisation was agreed upon by the Opposition parties in the Lok Sabha, wherein discussion was to have taken place under no specific rules. The MPs of the treasury benches (ruling coalition), though, refused to relent, disrupting the House repeatedly, preventing the Opposition members from speaking. Ultimately the House had to be adjourned for the day.

The final week of Parliament also saw the Opposition parties, including Trinamool Congress, demand discussions on demonetisation. However, the treasury benches continuously tried to disrupt proceedings.

On December 14, 16 leading Opposition parties held a joint press conference in New Delhi. Sudip Bandyopadhyay of Trinamool Congress said that the “voice of Opposition is being gagged” in Parliament and that “what is happening is not just unfortunate but disgraceful”.

In the Rajya Sabha, on December 14, Nadimul Haque spoke on behalf of the party supporting the Right of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014. A speech supporting the same Bill was given by Saugata Roy in the Lok Sabha on December 16.

On December 15, the Trinamool Members of Parliament held a protest against demonetisation outside Parliament.

On that same day, in the Lok Sabha, Sudip Bandyopadhyay even said that “a discussion could have been initiated, without any Rules”. However, the ruling party did not let it happen.

The 241st session of Parliament (Winter Session) ended on December 16.

 

একনজরে ২০১৬ সালের সংসদের শীতকালীন অধিবেশন: বিরোধীদের বৈধ দাবী মানল না সরকার

 

২০১৬র সংসদের পুরো শীতকালীন অধিবেশনে তৃণমূল সহ বিরোধী দলগুলি কেন্দ্রীয় সরকারের সারা দেশবাসীর ওপর চাপিয়ে দেওয়া নোটবাতিলের মর্মান্তিক সিদ্ধান্তের ওপর আলোচনার দাবি জানিয়ে গেল। সরকারের তরফ থেকে ক্রমাগত বাধা প্রদান করে আলোচনার থেকে তারা বিরত থাকল।

চলতি পার্লামেন্টের শীতকালীন অধিবেশনে লোকসভা ও রাজ্যসভা দু’জায়গাতেই কেন্দ্রীয় সরকারকে পুরো কোনঠাসা করল তৃণমূল কংগ্রেস। শীতকালীন অধিবেশনের প্রথম দিন মানে ১৬ই নভেম্বর পার্লামেন্টের সদস্যরা পার্লামেন্টের বাইরে বিক্ষোভ প্রদর্শন করেন এই নোট বাতিলের বিরুদ্ধে। তৃতীয় দিনেও একই ভাবে পার্লামেন্টের বাইরে তৃণমূল কংগ্রেসের পার্লামেন্টের সদস্যরা নোট বাতিলের ফলে সাধারণ মানুষের দুর্ভোগের প্রতিবাদে বিক্ষোভ প্রদর্শন করেন।

তৃণমূল কংগ্রেস প্রথম পার্টি যারা মুলতুবি প্রস্তাব আনেন রাজ্যসভায়। ১৭ই নভেম্বর রাজ্য সভায় ডেরেক ও ব্রায়েন আলোচনার পর ভোটের দাবি জানান। একই দিনে লোকসভায় সুদীপ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় ৫৬ নম্বর নিয়ম অনুযায়ী মুলতুবি প্রস্তাব আনেন ও বলেন একটি সুপরিকল্পিত পরিকল্পনা গ্রহণ করে তারপর এই নোট বাতিল কার্যকর করা হোক। পরের দিনও লোকসভায় সুদীপ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় একই দাবি তোলেন।

নানারকম ঘটনার মধ্যে দিয়ে কাটল পার্লামেন্টের শীতকালীন অধিবেশনের দ্বিতীয় সপ্তাহ। ২৪শে নভেম্বর রাজ্য সভায় ডেরেক ও ব্রায়েন উপযুক্ত জবাব দেন কেন্দ্রের এই দিশাহীন নোট বাতিলের তুঘলকি সিদ্ধান্তের ও তা কার্যকর করে বিগত ১৫ দিনের দেশের মানুষের কি পরিমান ভোগান্তি বাড়ানো হয়েছে, তার জবাব হিসেবে। তার আগের দিন সুদীপ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় লোকসভায় সকল বিরোধী দলের পক্ষ থেকে ৫৬ নম্বর নিয়ম মেনে নোট বাতিলের ওপর আলোচনা ও তার পর ভোটাভুটির দাবি তোলেন। ২৩শে নভেম্বর তৃণমূল কংগ্রেস সহ বিরোধী দলগুলি সংসদের সামনে গান্ধী মূর্তির তলায় একসঙ্গে বিক্ষোভ প্রদর্শন করেন কেন্দ্রের নোট বাতিলের তুঘলকি নীতির প্রতিবাদে।

যে সকল দল সরকার ও তার এই কার্যকলাপের বিরোধিতা করছে, তাদের প্রতি সরকারের আচরণের তীব্র সমালোচনা করেন ডেরেক ও ব্রায়েন। ২৫শে নভেম্বর, তিনি বলেন, “আমি গতকাল কক্ষে বলেছি, আমরা যদি সরকারের নীতির সমালোচনা করি, তার মানে এই না যে আমরা কালো টাকার পক্ষে”, তিনি প্রধানমন্ত্রীকে রাজ্যসভায় আসার ও সেদিন সকালে বিরোধীদের ব্যাপারে এরকম কটূক্তি করার জন্য ক্ষমা চাওয়ার দাবি জানান। তিনি বলেন, “প্রধানমন্ত্রী কি ভাবেন যে সব বিরোধীরা চোর আর উনি একা সাধুপুরুষ? প্রধানমন্ত্রী এই সভায় আসুন ও বিরোধীদের কাছে ক্ষমা চান।”

ওই দিনই তার কিছুক্ষন আগে সুদীপ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় লোকসভায় তীব্র প্রতিবাদ জানান প্রধান মন্ত্রীর বিরোধীদের ব্যাপারে কটূক্তির বিরোধিতা করে। তিনি বলেন , “যে সময় আমরা একটি উপায় খুঁজছি কি করে সভা চালানো যায়, সেসময় প্রধানমন্ত্রীর এরকম একটি উক্তি বিরোধী দলগুলিকে খুব বেদনা দিয়েছে। আমরা দাবি জানাই প্রধানমন্ত্রী তাঁর বক্তব্য ফিরিয়ে নিন ও বিরোধীদের থেকে ক্ষমা চান।”

২০১৬ সালের সংসদের শীতকালীন অধিবেশনের তৃতীয় সপ্তাহেও বিরোধীরা নোটবাতিল নিয়ে আলোচনার দাবিতে ও প্রধানমন্ত্রীর উপস্থিতিতে তর্ক করার দাবীতে সংসদ সরব রাখল।

দুটি বড় দুর্ঘটনা সংসদের নজরে আনল তৃণমূল কংগ্রেস। দোসরা ডিসেম্বর তৃতীয় সপ্তাহের অন্তিম দিনে পশ্চিমবঙ্গ সরকারের সঙ্গে কোনওরকম আলোচনা না করে রাজ্যের ১৯টি স্থানে সেনাবাহিনী মোতায়েন করার জন্য সংসদের উভয় কক্ষই উত্তাল রাখেন বিরধিরা। ২৬৭ নম্বর নিয়ম অনুযায়ী রাজ্যসভায় নোটিশ দেন রাজ্যসভার সাংসদ সুখেন্দু শেখর রায়, যা সকল বিরোধীদল সমর্থন করেন। আলোচনা চলাকালীন রাজ্যসভায় তৃণমুলের দলনেতা ডেরেক ও ব্রায়েন পয়েন্ট অফ অর্ডার ঘোষণা করেন যেখানে তিনি উল্লেখ করেন, সেনা মোতায়েন নিয়ে কেন্দ্রীয় মন্ত্রী কিছু বাছাই করা নথি পেশ করেছেন সংসদে।
লোকসভার দলনেতা সুদীপ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ও একই ব্যাপারে কথা তোলেন। তার আগের দিন ডেরেক ও ব্রায়েন দাবি তোলেন মাননীয়া মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বান্দ্যপাধ্যায়ের বিমানচালক জ্বালানি কম থাকার কারনে বারবার বিমানবন্দরকে অনুরধ করা সত্তেও কেন তার বিমানকে নামতে দেওয়া হয়নি, সেই ব্যাপারে সরকার যাতে অনুসন্ধান করেন। কেন্দ্রীয় মন্ত্রী এই ব্যাপারে উত্তর দেওয়ার পর সুখেন্দু শেখর রায় একটি খুব মুল্যবান কথা বলেন।লোকসভায় সুদীপ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ও একই ব্যাপারে কথা তোলেন।

২৮শে নভেম্বর সুদীপ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় মুলতুবি প্রস্তাব আনেন ও নোটবাতিলের ব্যাপারে আলোচনার দাবি জানান। তার পরের দিন, ২৯শে নভেম্বর সুদীপ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় নোট বাতিল ও আয়করের দ্বিতীয় সংশোধনী আইনের ব্যাপারে আলোচনার দাবি করেন কারন ওই দুটি বিষয় একে অপরের সঙ্গে জড়িত। ওইদিনেই লোকসভায় সৌগত রায় হঠকারী ভাবে সংসধনি আইন পাস করানোর তিব্র নিন্দা করেন ও বিস্তারিত আলোচনার দাবি জানান।

৩০শে নভেম্বর ডেরেক ও ব্রায়েন প্রধানমন্ত্রীর উপস্থিতিতে নোটবাতিলের অপর তর্কের দাবি তোলেন। ২৬৭ নম্বর নিয়ম মেনে রাজ্য সভায় সুখেন্দু শেখর রায়, রাজ্যসভার চেয়ারম্যানকে অনুরোধ করেন কাশ্মিরে নিহত সেনাদের সঙ্গে সঙ্গে নোটবাতিলের ফলে যারা মারা গেছেন তাদেরকেও শ্রদ্ধা জানাতে। ওইদিন লোকসভায় সুদীপ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় আবারও অধ্যক্ষকে দাবি জানান, নোটবাতিলের ওপর আলোচনা ও তারপর ভোটের। ওইদিনই ডেরেক ও ব্রায়েন দাবি করেন নোট বাতিলের ওপর আলোচনা শুরু করার আগে প্রধানমন্ত্রীকে ক্ষমা চাইতে হবে সংসদের বাইরে করা বিরোধীদের ব্যাপারে তাঁর কতুক্তি নিয়ে। লোকসভায় সুদীপ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় সেই একই দাবি তোলেন, নোটবাতিলের ওপর আলোচনা ও তারপর ভোটের।

সংসদের শীতকালীন অধিবেশনের চতুর্থ সপ্তাহে নোটবাতিলের বিরুদ্ধে সংসদ চত্বরে একগুচ্ছ ধর্না কর্মসূচীতে অংশগ্রহণ করল তৃণমূল কংগ্রেস।

নোটবাতিল ঘোষণার একমাস পুরন হয় ডিসেম্বরের ৮ তারিখ, ওইদিন সমস্ত বিরোধী দলগুলি মিলে কালা দিবস পালন করে। সংসদ চত্বরে তৃণমূল সহ অন্যান্য বিরোধী দলগুলি বিক্ষোভ দেখান। চতুর্থ সপ্তাহের প্রথম দিন অর্থাৎ ডিসেম্বরের ৫ তারিখ গান্ধী মূর্তির পাদদেশে তৃণমূল এই নোটবাতিল ও তাঁর খারাপ প্রভাবের বিরুদ্ধে ধর্না দেয়।

ডিসেম্বরের ৯ তারিখ আরেকটি বিক্ষোভ প্রদর্শন করেন তৃণমূল সাংসদদরা সংসদের বাইরে যেখানে তাঁরা একটি প্রতিলিপি প্রদর্শন করেন যেখানে ওই ৯৩ জন ব্যাক্তির নাম রয়েছে যারা এই নোটবাতিল ঘোষণার ফলে ব্যাঙ্ক ও এটিএমের লাইনে দাড়িয়ে জীবন দিয়েছেন। ডিসেম্বরের ৫ তারিখ লোকসভায় সুদীপ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় অধ্যক্ষর কাছে নোটবাতিলের ওপর দ্রুত আলোচনার দাবি জানান। সঙ্গে এও জানতে চান শাসক দল কেন এই আলোচনা থেকে পিছিয়ে যাচ্ছে?

ডিসেম্বরের ৭ তারিখ রাজ্যসভায় সুখেন্দু শেখর রায় বিজেপি নেতার বহু লক্ষ টাকা নিয়ে ধরা পড়ার ব্যাপারে পয়েন্ট অফ অর্ডার আনেন। ডিসেম্বরের ৮ তারিখ তিনি রাজ্য সভায় দাবি জানান এই নোটবাতিলের ফলে যেসকল মানুষ প্রান দিয়েছেন তাদের উদ্দেশ্যে রাজ্যসভায় শোক প্রকাশ করা হোক। ডিসেম্বরের ৯ তারিখেও তিনি রাজ্যসভায় একই দাবি রাখেন। পুরো সপ্তাহ ধরে কংগ্রেস নোটিশ দেন ১৮৪ নম্বর নিয়মে আলোচনা করার ও তৃণমূল ৫৬ নম্বর নিয়মে ও অন্যান্য দলগুলি ১৯৩ ধারায় নোটিশ দেন আলোচনার জন্য।

ডিসেম্বরের ৯ তারিখে কোনও নিয়ম না মেনেই বিরোধীরা আলোচনার জন্য রাজি হন। সরকার পক্ষের সাংসদরা এর বিরোধিতা করেন ও বারংবার সভা উত্তাল করে তোলেন ও বিরোধীদের কথা বলতে বাধা দেন। শেষ অবধি ওইদিনের মত কক্ষ মুলতুবি হয়ে যায়।

সংসদের শীতকালীন অধিবেশনের শেষ সপ্তাহেও নোটবাতিল নিয়ে আলোচনা হল না। বিরোধী দলগুলি আলোচনার দাবি জানালেও সরকার পক্ষ সমানে বাধা দিয়ে আলোচনা হতে দিল না।

ডিসেম্বরের ১৪ তারিখ বিরোধী দলগুলি যৌথ সাংবাদিক সম্মেলন করে। লোকসভায় তৃণমূল কংগ্রেসের দলনেতা সুদীপ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় বলেন, “বিরোধীদের কণ্ঠস্বর রোধ করা হচ্ছে। যা ঘটছে তা খুবই অনভিপ্রেত ও দুর্ভাগ্যজনক।” রাজ্যসভায় ডিসেম্বরের ১৪ তারিখ, নাদিমুল হক তৃণমূল কংগ্রেসের তরফ থেকে “The Right of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014″র পক্ষে সওয়াল করেন।
ডিসেম্বরের ১৫ তারিখ তৃণমূল কংগ্রেসের সাংসদরা নোটবাতিলের বিরোধিতায় সংসদ চত্বরে ধর্ণা দেন। ওই দিনই লোকসভায় সুদীপ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় বলেন, “কোনও নিয়ম ছাড়াই আলোচনা হতে পারে।“ যদিও সরকার পক্ষ সেটা হতে দেয় নি।

সংসদের শীতকালীন অধিবেশন শেষ হয় ডিসেম্বরের ১৬ তারিখ।

Week 3: Trinamool Congress again leads the Opposition chorus in Parliament

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The third week of the 2016 Winter Session of Parliament saw the major Opposition parties demanding discussions on demonetisation and the presence of the Prime Minister during those debates as well.

Two major incidents were brought to the notice of the Parliament by the Trinamool Congress.

On the last day of the week, December 2, there was a furore in both Houses of Parliament over the issue of the sudden deployment of the Army in 19 places in Bengal, without discussing with the State Government.

In the Rajya Sabha, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy gave a notice under Rule 267 (suspension of business) and raised the issue, which was supported by all Opposition parties.

During the discussion, Derek O’Brien, the Leader of the Party in the Rajya Sabha, raised a Point of Order regarding the placing of selective documents by the Minister regarding the role of the Army.

Sudip Bandyopadhyay, the Leader of the Party in the Lok Sabha, raised the same issue.

A day before, on December 1, Derek O’Brien had demanded an enquiry to be instituted by the Government on the issue of the flight carrying Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee being denied immediate permission to land at Kolkata Airport, despite the pilot reporting the plane being short on fuel.

Sukhendu Sekhar Roy in the Rajya Sabha had made an important intervention after the Minister’s reply on the issue of the flight snag.

Sudip Bandyopadhyay had taken up the same issue in the Lok Sabha.

Earlier, on November 28, Sudip Bandyopadhyay had demanded the adoption of Adjournment Motion to enable discussion on demonetisation.

The next day, November 29, saw Sudip Bandyopadhyay asking for the clubbing of the discussions on demonetisation and the amendments brought in the Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016, since the latter is related to demonetisation.

On the same day, Saugata Roy in the Lok Sabha demanded a full-fledged discussion on the Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016, strongly criticising the Government’s decision to pass the Bill in a hasty manner.

On November 30, Derek O’Brien, demanded the presence of the Prime Minister in the Rajya Sabha during the debate on demonetisation.

Sukhendu Sekhar Roy in the Rajya Sabha gave a Notice under Rule 267, asking the Chairman to enable the House to make obituary references for the army jawans killed in clashes with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir and for the people who had died as a consequence of the implementation of demonetisation.

In the Lok Sabha, on November 30, Sudip Bandyopadhyay again pressed the Speaker to grant the Opposition’s demand for a discussion on demonetisation, followed by voting.

Later in the day, Derek O’Brien demanded the Prime Minister withdraws his remarks on the Opposition outside Parliament before the debate on demonetisation can begin.

In the Lok Sabha, Sudip Bandyopadhyay repeated his earlier demand of the discussion on demonetisation to be taken up, along with voting.

Thus ended the third week of the 2016 Winter Session, during which the Trinamool Congress once again led the Opposition chorus in Parliament.

 

 

তৃতীয় সপ্তাহেও বিরোধীদের নেতৃত্ব দিল তৃণমূল

 

২০১৬ সালের সংসদের শীতকালীন অধিবেশনের তৃতীয় সপ্তাহেও বিরোধীরা নোটবাতিল নিয়ে আলোচনার দাবিতে ও প্রধানমন্ত্রীর উপস্থিতিতে তর্ক করার দাবীতে সংসদ সরব রাখল।

দুটি বড় দুর্ঘটনা সংসদের নোটিশে আনল তৃণমূল কংগ্রেস।

দোসরা ডিসেম্বর তৃতীয় সপ্তাহের অন্তিম দিনে পশ্চিমবঙ্গ সরকারের সঙ্গে কোনওরকম আলোচনা না করে রাজ্যের ১৯টি স্থানে সেনাবাহিনী মোতায়েন করার জন্য সংসদের উভয় কক্ষই উত্তাল রাখেন বিরধিরা।

২৬৭ নম্বর নিয়ম অনুযায়ী রাজ্যসভায় নোটিশ দেন রাজ্যসভার সাংসদ সুখেন্দু শেখর রায়, যা সকল বিরোধীদল সমর্থন করেন।

আলোচনা চলাকালীন রাজ্যসভায় ত্রিনমুলের দলনেতা ডেরেক ও ব্রায়েন পয়েন্ট অফ অর্ডার ঘোষণা করেন যেখানে তিনি উল্লেখ করেন, সেনা মোতায়েন নিয়ে কেন্দ্রীয় মন্ত্রী কিছু বাছাই করা নথি পেশ করেছেন সংসদে।

লোকসভার দলনেতা সুদীপ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ও একই ব্যাপারে কথা তোলেন।

তার আগের দিন ডেরেক ও ব্রায়েন দাবি তোলেন মাননীয়া মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বান্দ্যপাধ্যায়ের বিমানচালক জ্বালানি কম থাকার কারনে বারবার বিমানবন্দরকে অনুরধ করা সত্তেও কেন তার বিমানকে নামতে দেওয়া হয়নি, সেই ব্যাপারে সরকার যাতে অনুসন্ধান করেন।

কেন্দ্রীয় মন্ত্রী এই ব্যাপারে উত্তর দেওয়ার পর সুখেন্দু শেখর রায় একটি খুব মুল্যবান কথা বলেন।

সুদীপ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ও একই ব্যাপারে কথা তোলেন।

২৮সে নভেম্বর সুদীপ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় মুলতুবি প্রস্তাব আনেন ও নোটবাতিলের ব্যাপারে আলোচনার দাবি জানান।

তার পরের দিন, ২৯সে নভেম্বর সুদীপ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় নোট বাতিল ও আয়করের দ্বিতীয় সংশোধনী আইনের ব্যাপারে আলোচনার দাবি করেন কারন ওই দুটি বিষয় একে অপরের সঙ্গে জড়িত।

ওইদিনেই লোকসভায় সৌগত রায় হঠকারী ভাবে সংসধনি আইন পাস করানোর তিব্র নিন্দা করেন ও বিস্তারিত আলোচনার দাবি জানান।

৩০সে নভেম্বর ডেরেক ও ব্রায়েন প্রধানমন্ত্রীর উপস্থিতিতে নোটবাতিলের অপর তর্কের দাবি তোলেন।

২৬৭ নম্বর নিয়ম মেনে রাজ্য সভায় সুখেন্দু শেখর রায়, রাজ্যসভার চেয়ারম্যানকে অনুরোধ করেন কাশ্মিরে নিহত সেনাদের সঙ্গে সঙ্গে নোটবাতিলের ফলে যারা মারা গেছেন তাদেরকেও শ্রধধা জানাতে।

৩০সে নভেম্বর লোকসভায় সুদীপ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় আবারও অধ্যক্ষকে দাবি জানান, নোটবাতিলের ওপর আলোচনা ও তারপর ভোটের।

ওইদিনই ডেরেক ও ব্রায়েন দাবি করেন নোট বাতিলের ওপর আলোচনা শুরু করার আগে প্রধানমন্ত্রীকে ক্ষমা চাইতে হবে সংসদের বাইরে করা বিরোধীদের ব্যাপারে তাঁর কতুক্তি নিয়ে।

লোকসভায় সুদীপ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় সেই একই দাবি তোলেন, নোটবাতিলের ওপর আলোচনা ও তারপর ভোটের।

এভাবেই ২০১৬ সালের সংসদের শীতকালীন অধিবেশনের তৃতীয় সপ্তাহ সেশ হল যেখানে বিরোধীদের সকলকে নেতৃত্ব দিল তৃনমূল।

 

Trinamool’s Derek O’Brien speaks on demonetisation in the Rajya Sabha | FULL TRANSCRIPT

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Mr Chairman, Sir, different people have reacted differently from the time this announcement was made by our Hon’ble Prime Minister himself on the November 8, 2016 at 8 PM. Some people, after hearing this announcement, and being part of the order that made this announcement, have quoted Bob Dylan. The same people who quoted Bob Dylan have also conducted polls on their mobile app to tell us that 93% people are very happy with the decision. And some people also feel so grieved that crocodile tears are also being shed. But I want to first begin my submission today by quoting word-to-word what one person said or started saying within one-and-a-half hours of this announcement.

“While I am strongly against black money, corruption, and am deeply concerned about common people, small traders, how will they buy essentials tomorrow? This is financial chaos, disaster let loose on the common people of India. He (Prime Minister) could not get back the promised black money from abroad, hence so much drama. I want to know from the Prime Minister how my poorest brothers and sisters, who’ve received their week’s hard-earned wage in one Rs 500 note will buy atta, chawal tomorrow. This is a heartless and ill-conceived blow to the common people, the middle class, the agricultural cooperatives, the tea garden workers, the unorganised labour sector, the shopkeepers, the small businessmen. All will suffer, there will be starvation deaths”.

Sir, I will carry on quoting. This is no Bob Dylan quote; this is Mamata Banerjee reacting to the decision – not ten days or not fifteen days later, but within two hours. With all the wisdom of an economist who perhaps has never been able to do a PhD in economics, as we heard the very erudite intervention today from our former Prime Minister. The reason is very simple, and the reason is only one word – because “Trinamool” means “grassroots”.

So, Sir, these are some reactions within two hours of this announcement. I will carry on, Sir, because we need to get a feel. Not everyone likes to hear these reactions, but it doesn’t matter. Sir, there are more and innumerable reactions to what was said. These messages, Sir, were bringing out the suffering of people; they were put up every day – “bhookh mein marte hain”, “transport business down hain”. “This is not any ego battle,” this is what she said. On November 13 she tweeted – “I humbly appeal to the Centre to save the common people from more suffering”. This is the way it went on, Sir. And finally, on the November 16, the Trinamool Congress went to Rashtrapati Ji and tried, as best as it could, with a few other parties, to highlight this.

To give you a feel, I’ll take a few more quotes, Sit. Here is another example: “Tea garden owners have expressed difficulty.” This goes on and on. There is total chaos. There is anger among housewives, there is anger among traders, there is anger among citizens, employees and it is getting worse every hour.

Sir, the point here is not who said it first or who said it second. The point here is, sixteen opposition parties stand united today. Now it is no more a solo voice, it is a chorus of the people, Sir.

And now let me explain point by point as to what this step can solve and what it cannot solve.

The first point is that everybody is against black money and everybody is against corruption. Let us make no two bones about it. It is the Trinamool Congress who even mentioned it in the Parliament first in 1998; in 2014 we had a demonstration outside and inside the Parliament.

Our first submission to this Government is, by doing this demonetisation, it is just one part of a larger step. What are you doing about electoral reforms? Today electoral reforms is a very big issue; 80% of the donations received by political parties are from unknown sources. so what are you trying to present by saying that this is going to solve the problem?

Point number two, Sir. Only six per cent of the black money composition is cash, what about the other 94 per cent? What about the gold? What about the real estate? You will say that you have brought the Benami Bill.
Sir, let us move on. Mamata Banerjee calls this the big black scandal. She said that ‘this is a black political decision, this is anti-commoner, a desperate attempt to start a black mechanism’. The situation is very grim Sir, and people are suffering.

After this, Sir, since this is not an ego battle, we offered some concrete suggestions. The first concrete suggestion we offered was, why don’t you allow the old and new 500 rupee notes to function parallelly for a longer period of time? We also suggested the government to print more small currency notes.

And that brings me to my point, the secrecy. Sir, this Government is saying that we had to do this suddenly because we had to keep it secret. If you had to keep it a secret, what prevented you from printing in the last one year, hundred rupee notes? No one would have suspected. Mr. Jaitley, why didn’t you print more 100 rupee notes? Perhaps you didn’t know when this announcement was to be made.

Next the Government tells us that ‘we printed more Rs 2000 notes because we are taking out 85% of the currency, so we needed to quickly put this currency back’. It doesn’t work. And I will tell you why. Simply because, secrecy cannot be an excuse to put people in pain. If it was so secret, then when you were doing spectrum auctions, why didn’t you plan that you had to reach out telephony to villages? Today, 4 out of 5 villages in India do not have a bank.

Sir, I want to tell you a story without mentioning names. I was talking to a minister in the Government. He tells me, ‘what’s the problem, I buy my vegetables, sabzi, do my laundry on plastic.’ I was looking at him, amazed. Of course plastic is in use, but there are basic issues with plastic that don’t work. According to your figures Mr Finance Minister, 95% of the debit cards in India are not used to buy anything; they are used to withdraw money from Bank.
I think it’s a mindset issue and the problem here is, the mindset gets continued. Because, after you do all this, again you ran a poll yesterday, which says 92 per cent people are happy. Which 92 per cent are happy? Who are you keeping happy?

Sir, these are not my numbers. These are government numbers.

  • One out of 5000 people have credit cards
  • Five out of 1000 people have debit cards
  • Four out of five villages in India don’t have a bank

 

We all want to get to a cashless society. But before you get to a cashless society, Sir, you cannot get to a Lululand. Look what you have done. You have made 24 changes from the time of the announcement. Yet the Finance Minister, four days after the announcement, said the move was 100% good, 100% well implemented.

Sir, in the system in India here, is a flowing economy not just black or white. We need to understand this. Say, I withdraw Rs 400 from the bank account and use it to buy chewing gum and cold drinks from a paan wala. I pay him Rs 300. Now he goes and pays a portion of it to the retail chain and say Rs 80 to a farmer for paan leaves. The rest of the amount, unaccounted for in the record books becomes black money. So, my white money has become black. Is it not that?

So there is no watertight compartment between white money and black money. The way our economy is designed, there is a complete flow between black and white money. This is why there are problems with the implementation.
Sir, a prominent economist spoke before me. I want to share some numbers with the Prime Minister. Please reply to us, Sir. We are saying that GDP per day is Rs 45,000 crore. Of this, 59% is private consumption on household financial expenditure (which is about Rs 27,000 crore). 87% of this is cash. That’s about Rs 24,000 crore. So if it is Rs 24,000 crore cash, and it has been 15 days, my submission is, you can challenge my figure, we have lost Rs 3.75 lakh crore GDP in the last 15 days. This is not just about inconvenience at the ATM. People have made this point before. Only 0.02% of currency is counterfeit. So what you do to the other 99.98%? You penalize the whole country.
Sir, this will not do. Another important aspect, Sir, is secrecy. Even when the Atom Bomb was dropped, on August 6, 1945, we all know how secrecy played a part.

Sir, there are movements. I have had the privilege of being a worker in some of these movements under Mamata Di. The one I can remember more is Singur. We were alone. No one believed us. She fought, she fought, she fought. The movement was a people’s movement. It was a people’s victory. And, after all the victories, when everyone was a doubting Thomas, the Supreme Court of India, one month ago, gave us the verdict on Singur.

Sir, it is extremely important to understand, this is not a political movement. This is a people’s movement. You cannot suppress the voice of the people.

Sir, This is the narrative which the Government are playing. Anyone who opposes your policy, Mr. Prime Minister Ji, is not for black money. Anyone who opposes your policy is not anti-national. Why are you giving us these lectures on corruption and black money? We opposed and we are opposing you because people are suffering, we are opposing you because we believe economy will be killed. Why are you making this an issue? The government thinks they are some messiah and all of us are devils.

Sir, I have to say one thing. Why are we fighting this battle? We will be fighting this battle on behalf of the people. I get the confidence and inspiration from Mamta Di to say this, try as you may through your agencies to hassle and harass us, that will give us more conviction to fight you. Even try and put Mamta di in jail if you want. Try it, try it. We are fighting you on people’s issue.

Sir, talk to us about issues, talk to us about price rise, what have you done? Talk to us about education, what have you done? Talk to us about unemployment, what have you done? These are the issues, Sir. I have got all these figures here. But, this is not the time to go into figures. I am still saying this with all humility, this is not an ego battle, this is not about who reacted first to it, please understand we need to find the solution. It is good that after five days of deciding not to listen to us, now the Prime Minister has come to listen to us. In this spirit of humility you must listen to the next 22 speakers also. Then we will listen to your reply.

All we are saying is we need to find a solution and it cannot be found with someone with hubris. What is hubris? Hubris is extreme self confidence before nemesis. I would appeal to the Prime Minister – my Prime Minister, our Prime Minister – you made an announcement. If here was such a plan and place, why was that announcement made on the November 8, 2016 why not on the November 8, 2017? This is a question to ponder.

If you look at the practicality of printing the currency notes – the government must put those figures on the floor of the House – you will only come back to the equal amount after one year and that is also after printing 2000 rupee notes.

Sir, I once again in all humility appeal to the Prime Minister, through you. People have died; we have been saying this from day one. People have been suffering across the board. There are still some people who want to buy vegetables and get their laundry done with plastic money. We have nothing against the plastic economy but everything comes with time. Everybody cannot do it.

Sir, I think we said all we could say. We are appealing to the Prime Minister again with all humility to please take our suggestions because we do believe that Mamata Di has thought this out and everybody is now on the same page. This is not about anybody’s ego. Al 14-15 parties.

So far two persons have spoken from the BJP but I was quite interested in the first person who spoke from the BJP. Piyush (Goyal) ji was the first speaker. He is a chartered accountant, speaks very well – I am not being condescending – very affable person, always very articulate person in this Rajya Sabha.

But the one thought which has been bothering me for the last two weeks is that before he became the minister, for many years he was the National Treasurer of BJP. He is still is the National Treasurer of BJP. This is very interesting. I will leave you with it thought.

 

 

Trinamool raises the issue of Net Neutrality in Rajya Sabha

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Leader of All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party in the Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien called the attention of the Union Minister for Communications and IT in the House on the issue of Net Neutrality.

Trinamool had pledged support to the issue of net neutrality in the month of April. The party took up the issue in Rajya Sabha during Zero Hour last week. Today’s Calling Attention Motion received support from all political parties.

He explained the complicated subject of Net Neutrality with the example of electricity supplier charging separately for various home appliances. Although he thanked the Minister for sharing the optimism, Derek mentioned that the government has continued with the jargon throughout their statement.

He also stated that the consultation paper of TRAI was blatantly in favour of telecom companies. He also upheld the concerted effort of the netizens where 10 lakh emails were sent to TRAI on the issue.

Derek also urged the government to make their stand clear on the issue of Net Neutrality on the floor of the House after consultation with everyone including the users on social media. He also demanded that the government must give an assurance to the House that no action will be taken, TRAI or otherwise, without taking the Parliament into confidence.

Click here for the full transcript of his speech

Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Gupta also spoke on the issue during the Calling Attention Motion. He said that the government itself is a beneficiary as it gets a part of the revenue from telecom companies. How will a level playing field be created for the small startups against the big giants if there is not net neutrality, he pondered. “Why is the TRAI over-enthusiastic in releasing the 10 lakh email IDs,” he asked.

Derek O’Brien speaks during discussion on Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015 | Transcript

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Full transcript:

Sir, there are two ways of looking at this Mines and Minerals Bill after it has come from the Select Committee. One way of looking at it Sir, there is a glass of water which is half full and the other way of looking at it is that the glass of water is half empty.

My party believes in looking at this Bill in a positive way and has given some suggestions which have been incorporated. So let us be optimistic and say the glass is half full, let us not be negative.

Sir, there are five specific points I will make in three minutes as these are five parameters according to which we should judge this Bill.

First, local communities as partners of development. Here we gave the Government last week a specific suggestion on the floor of the House to allow the District Mineral Foundation set up by the State Government to include tribals because then the tribals will also feel they are part of the whole system. Tribals have been historically neglected. This is not the ideal solution but it is close, as I said the glass is half full.

The states have also been empowered to set up special courts for quick settlement for mining disputes and I am also glad that the entire composition of the DMF has been given to the state governments. Thank you for including that in the Bill.

The second point Sir, is to capture the windfall of profit within the nation, the state and the people. Here again in our own experience in West Bengal we have seen through e-governance we have actually increased revenues by 87% in the last three years. So we welcome the concept of e-auction, it is a transparent process. These are the good things.

On the other issues Sir, there is no regulatory mechanism for mining as yet. Now for environment friendly mines, I want to make a point which you have not included in the Bill but please think about including it and updating the 2011 rules because 80% of the mines today are not environment friendly. If you look at the rules, the environment Minister is here. Those rules call for 20 years and 30 years but now it has gone up to 50 years. Please look at those rules very carefully.

The other one Sir, is the scientific mining procedures for the future. That is the other reason why again the National Mineral Exploration Trust needs to do this.

Overall Sir we are going with this Bill, we are supporting this Bill. However at this stage I also want to say please pass the Mining and Mineral and subsequently the Coal Bill, but do not touch the Land Bill, the land is a different kind of mine, that is a land mine, it will explode. Stay away from the land mine of the Land Bill, you have some support from us now, very good, do the job but please do not touch the Land Bill.

Thank you Sir.

Derek O’Brien speaks on Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015 | Transcript

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Full transcript:

Sir, I rise to strongly oppose the Bill that proposes to increase the FDI cap in Insurance from 26% to 49%.

It is not a coincidence that the Prime Minister is on an island somewhere in the Indian Ocean or the Finance Minister is on a plane to London or the Home Minister is about to try some vegetarian sushi in Japan.

So who are we left with? We are left with the Foreign Minister on Indian soil. This gives us a good sense of this new Government and where this new Government is headed.

So, it does not surprise me one bit that they believe that FDI is the magical jaributi, which will cure India of all its problems.

Sir, I have heard what the Samajwadi Party said and what the JDU said, and I urge Bahujan Samaj Party and the DMK, as Trinamool, not to be a part of this new alliance between both the sides.

I want to give them five solid reasons as where both sides are wrong. But before I give the five reasons, let me respond to the two-three points that the Speaker from BJP said.

One he said, that in USA, 100% of FDI is allowed. Correct, but what he didn’t tell you is how many States have taken 100% in FDI. 37 States in United States of America have never taken FDI in insurance under their State Law. Only 13 States have adopted it.

Secondly, he told you quite correctly that when LIC Chairman came and had coffee with us at the Select Committee meeting, he endorsed FDI. What he didn’t tell you is what happened on March 9 is all across the country the LIC employees were protesting and doing dharna.

Now, let me come to the five points. I will speak one by one, no emotion, only rationale. Not political but insurance rationale. Trinamool always gives you constructive criticism. That is why we gave you Mining Bill, which is going through in one week.

Sir, on the insurance penetration, Ram Gopal ji had made the point; I do not want to dwell on it. From 2000 to 2015, there has been an increase of 3.9% in insurance penetration. In the last 5 years, the penetration has in fact dropped by 1%.

Now their target is 3% in the next five years. Do not say we did not warn you, this will never happen. Next, in the last ten years how much has the LIC given you in terms of dividend? Rs 7800 crore is what you have got from FDI in ten years.

What has the LIC given you? About Rs 1200 crore to Rs 1400 crore every year. You add it up, FDI in Insurance has given you Rs 7800 crore and LIC Dividend has given you Rs 14000 crore in the last 10 years.

Now let me come to the dangerous part about investment in infrastructure. This is my second point. 65% of the Funds are invested in ULIPs (this is the private insurers who have come to India) whereas LIC has only 8%. Now what does this mean? This means these funds are at high risk; that is why we are telling you, do not touch this, this is dangerous.

The last point is the investment in infrastructure – average annual premium for the private insurers, is an interesting figure of Rs 60,000, and the average annual premium of LIC – Rs 9000. You can draw your own inferences as to who is going to the top end of the market and who is actually doing the dirty work at the bottom end of the market.

My third of the five points Sir. Let me come to claim and settlement performance. These are not my figures, these are IRDA figures. Claims and settlement performance the best you can have in Six Sigma is 99.999%. The LIC’s figure is at 99.86% settlement and the private sector is at 79%. These are IRDA figures, not mine and the same Chairman of LIC who had come and had coffee and said “sell”.

Lapse ratio in LIC is 5% and in private insurers it is 47%. I am not getting technical; Ram Gopal ji has already mentioned that for claims if you do this then from LIC you send it to the ICU.

Sir, portfolio investment has been included. This is hot money and both the Congress and BJP have included themselves in this. This is dangerous because portfolio investment, everyone knows what happened in the time of global recession. What would have happened to this money if it was caught up in the global recession? If it was caught up in the global recession I do not need to remind you Sir, AIG was bailed out for almost USD 200 Billion. So this is a very dangerous trend Sir.

Sir, because the Congress speaker who got up said “I went to UPenn”; this gentleman also went to UPenn. We are happy and proud of such Indians. Then Harvard, then McKinsey; all are very good institutions. I only went to St. Xavier’s in Kolkata. So, I wanted to quote a great American Noble Laureate, Joseph Stiglitz, because even Joseph Stiglitz cautioned against FDI in insurance. He avoided foreign capital advised to leverage domestic savings.

I will conclude with an Indian quote.

“The public sector general insurers have expressed confidence in raising the capital projected as required by IRDA. The double digit growth of the Indian insurance sector could be maintained during the global financial crisis of 2008, because 74% of the paid-up equity capital was held by Indian promoters and only 26% by the foreign promoters. The Committee would, therefore, consider it prudent to seriously pursue the alternate route of tapping the Indian market for raising the capital required for the sustenance and growth of the sector.”

It was a disaster in 2008. Thankfully because we had 26%, we got saved.

Now, who said this? This was said by Yashwant Sinha ji. Now, at least he should try and convince you.

Now, the Trinamool warns you, we also warned the previous Government. We warned them on the Land Acquisition. We were the only party who called for a Division and said do not do that, but our friends from the Congress and our friends from the BJP said, “no, no you are 11-12 in Rajya Sabha.”

Now, what do I say? This is Yashwant Sinha ji’s view. So all I have to say at the end is:

Papa kehte hain bada naam karega
Beta humaara aisa kaam karega.

TMC questions Centre on the rising incidents of communal violence in India

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Leader of the Trinamool Congress in Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien raised the issue of incidents of communal violence during the Question Hour today.

He said that the government claims there has been a reduction of 22% in incidents of communal violence. He questioned the government what are the figures of such incidents under the category of “others”.

Derek O’Brien also said that he doubted whether the communal incidents had actually decreased or increased by 222%. He also demanded that the Minister share the actual figures in the House.

He further demanded to know whether these incidents have the pattern of being instigated by the use of loudspeakers, rumour mongering and use of technology.

He also questioned the government whether the recent incidents of church attacks were communal in nature. He slammed the government for lack of progress in SIT probe.

Trinamool plays constructive Opposition in Parliament

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Trinamool played the role of a constructive Opposition in Parliament today. A day full of activities for the party, the MPs raised matters of national importance, made their objection known on Bills which were against public interest and rendered support to the Government to pass a Bill which would be beneficial for the people.

Trinamool Congress MPs today slammed the Central Government in the Zero Hour and the Question Hour in both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. In Lok Sabha, Saugata Roy condemned the statement of the Jammu and Kashmir CM and demanded a clarification from the Prime Minister. In the Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien raised the concern regarding the way the Government is handling issues of legislative procedures. Sukhendu Sekhar Roy also raised his concern of how land marked for Air Traffic Control is now being replaced to build a shopping mall.

Nadimul Haque spoke on Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in the Rajya Sabha. He highlighted the issue of reduction of allocations in MNREGA and also the social sector spending. He said that unity in diversity was the guiding principle of Trinamool, he said that the Central Government has failed to keep its promise in all aspects.

In Lok Sabha, Saugata Roy opposed the Introduction of Insurance Bill, which the Cabinet promulgated on 26 December, 2014. He also slammed the Government for ushering in an era of Ordinance raj. “Are we subjected to a system where there is a Constitutional Imbroglio,” he asked the Government.

Saugata Roy also moved amendments to extend the penalty for illegal mining. He urged the Government to take steps to protect the right of the tribals. He demanded that the time period for mining leases be brought down to 30 years.

Ratna De Nag supported the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2015 in Lok Sabha as it will create employment for large number of drivers. She also requested the Government to help the poor drivers of the e-rickshaw and e-carts, either in getting a loan from the Bank in zero interest or less interest or by giving them some subsidy.

During a Short Duration Discussion on losses incurred by farmers due to non seasonal rainfall, Debabrata Bandyopadhyay demanded that farmers be given crop insurance.

Trinamool MPs also made Special Mentions in Rajya Sabha on important issues.

Insult to Mother Teresa is an insult to all Bharat Ratna awardees: Derek in RS

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Chief Whip of the Trinamool Congress in Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien today condemned the recent comments by RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat during the Zero Hour. He said it was not only an insult to Mother Teresa but to all 43 Bharat Ratna recipients.

Derek added, “Instead of listening to people like Bhagwat, one must follow the ancient Hindu scriptures like Bhagwat Gita and Puran.”

He went on to say that yes, Mother Teresa converted; she converted Hindus to better Hindus, Muslims to better Muslims, Christians to better Christians.

 

Click here for the full transcript to his intervention.

Trinamool MP quotes Vajpayee to embarrass Govt in Parliament | Transcript

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Chief Whip of Trinamool Congress in the Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien, today spoke on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address. During his speech, he quoted former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee while speaking on communal harmony and unity in diversity. Vajpayee ji had made these comments after the 2002 Gujarat riots.

“I have said that I support Hindutva, the Hindutva preached by Swami Vivekananda. But the type of propaganda on Hindutva that is being carried on now, that is wrong, that is not fair; we have to stay a hundred miles away from that,” Derek O’Brien said, quopting Vajpayee.

He added, “Mein kabhi antar mein soch bhi nahin sakta kisi dusre dharm par apatti ki jaye, akshep kiya jaye. Matbhed hona alag baat hai lekin ‘Sarva Dharma Sambhav’ is desh ki mitti ka gun hain, is desh ki mitti ka khusbu mein hain. Yeh koi 1947 ke baad ka din nahin hain ya koi adhunik kaal mein humne avishkar kiya ho, aisa nahin hai. Is desh main mat-matantaro ko lekar hamesha matbhed rahe hai aur matabhedo ko shanti ke saath shastradh ke dwara hal karne ki parampara rahi hain.”

 

Click here for the full transcript of the speech.