Tag: Derek O’Brien

Statement on Srinjoy Bose’s resignation: Derek O’Brien

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It is Srinjoy’s personal choice. It is his prerogative. It is his democratic right.

We have been saying for some time now that he has been put under tremendous pressure by the party in power at the Centre. He was released on bail yesterday. He resigned today. Did this pressure lead to some coordination? We are happy that he got “freedom” yesterday.

The Rajya Sabha seat which becomes vacant will be filled by the All India Trinamool Congress. We will soon announce the name of a party member who will then become a member of the Rajya Sabha.

We wish Srinjoy well in all that he does. We wish him a speedy recovery. Our warm wishes to him and his entire family.

Statement by Derek O’Brien, National Spokesperson and Chief Whip in Rajya Sabha

 

এটা সৃন্জয়ের ব্যক্তিগত সিদ্ধান্ত। এটা তার গনতান্ত্রিক অধিকার।

আমরা কিছুদিন ধরেই বলছিলাম যে কেন্দ্রীয় সরকার তাকে প্রচণ্ড চাপের মধ্যে রেখেছে। গতকাল তিনি জামিন পেয়েছেন। আজ তিনি ইস্তফা দিয়েছেন। তাঁর এই সিদ্ধান্ত কি এই চাপেরই ফল? আমরা খুশি যে তিনি গতকাল “মুক্তি” পেয়েছেন।

রাজ্যসভার খালি হওয়া পদটি সর্ব ভারতীয় তৃণমূল কংগ্রেস পূর্ণ করবে। খুব শীঘ্রই আমরা রাজ্যসভার নতুন প্রার্থীর নাম ঘোষণা করব।

আমাদের তরফ থেকে সৃন্জয়কে ভবিষ্যতের জন্য শুভকামনা জানাই।  ও ভবিষ্যতে যাই করুক তাতে যেন সাফল্য পায়।  সৃন্জয় ও তার পরিবারের জন্য রইল আন্তরিক শুভেচ্ছা।

সর্ব ভারতীয় মুখপাত্র, রাজ্যসভার মুখ্য সচেতক ডেরেক ও’ ব্রায়েনের বিবৃতি

TMC RS MPs to meet Vice President on Feb 6

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 A delegation of Trinamool Congress will meet Vice-president and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari to take up the issue of MPs being “targetted” by the CBI in the Saradha scam.

“It was decided at the TMC core committee meeting, which was held a few days ago and presided over by party supremoMamata Banerjee that an eight-member delegation of our Rajya Sabha members would meet Hamid Ansari who has given a date on February 6 to meet him,” TMC national spokesman and RS MP Derek O’Brien told PTI here today.

“We want to share with the Vice-president, who is Chairman of Rajya Sabha our concern that TMC RS members were being targeted politically by using CBI as the BJP is in minority there (RS) and TMC has taken the lead role in the opposition there,” O’Brien said.

TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee had alleged after the party’s core committee meeting on Saturday that BJP, which does not have majority in Rajya Sabha, was arresting TMC MPs on various pretexts and a delegation of the party would meet Ansari.

 

PTI Story

WB CM Mamata Banerjee urges immediate steps for electoral reforms

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today called for immediate steps for electoral reforms to ensure transparency and accountability.

“Electoral reforms are urgently needed to maintain transparency and accountability in our democracy and the election process,” Banerjee told PTI.

Trinamool Congress’s national spokesperson Derek O’ Brien said the party would agitate to press for electoral reforms in the coming Budget Session in Parliament.

“We will agitate both inside and outside Parliament,” he said.

“One political party is using money like a hosepipe to fund its campaign. It’s dangerous. We want wholesome democracy and not hosepipe democracy,” Brien, who is the chief whip of TMC Parliamentary party in Rajya Sabha said.

TMC, he said, has been raising the issue of electoral reforms ever since Mamata Banerjee wrote a book on the subject 20 years ago.

Brien said the Centre is not serious in bringing back black money. “We want a time bound plan and threadbare discussion on black money linked to poll funding,” he said.

 

PTI Story

 

Trinamool’s reaction to Amit Shah being discharged in ‘Fake Encounter Case’

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Trinamool’s reaction to Amit Shah being discharged in ‘Fake Encounter Case’

  • We said this before, CBI is Credibility Broken Irreparably. After today’s hogwash, QED.
  • Amit Shah discharged in fake encounter case after top lawyers defend him for three days and CBI prosecutors get only 15 minutes. Wah!

 

Derek O’Brien
National Spokesperson
All India Trinamool Congress

 

TMC slams Govt for taking Ordinance route

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Statement by Derek O’Brien, National Spokesperson and Chief Whip in Rajya Sabha:

Extremely unethical to avoid & bypass the democratic process. What value does it serve to bulldoze the democratic process?

তৃণমূল কংগ্রেসের জাতীয় মুখপাত্র ও রাজ্যসভায় মুখ্য সচেতক, ডেরেক ও’ব্রায়েনের বিবৃতি:

এটা গণতান্ত্রিক ব্যবস্থাকে এড়িয়ে অনৈতিক পদক্ষেপ। গণতন্ত্রকে এভাবে ধ্বংস করার মানে কি?

PM is on Facebook & Twitter. But it will be great if he could come to the round building & speak: Derek | Transcript

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Trinamool MP and Chief Whip of the party in the Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien supported the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2014 today.

Full transcript of his speech:

I stand to support this Bill because one man’s slum is another man’s community. This Bill affects about 60 lakh poor slum dwellers in Delhi.

I am proud to say that in Bengal we have given these kinds of slum dwellers tenancy rights, and in some cases we have even given them land deeds. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation is building a model slum for 6,000 family members.

This is not a Christmas gift we are giving the 60 lakh slum dwellers in Delhi, neither are we giving them a New Year’s gift. This is their right.

I conclude, Sir, by saying that the Hon’ble Prime Minister of this very great nation of ours is very active on Facebook and Twitter. It is our pleasure and privilege on seeing his photographs. My only wish and only request, very humbly, to him is to please come more often here, to speak his mind in this historic round building.

You need 4-inch heart, not a 56-inch chest, to come to Parliament and talk about religious conversions: Derek O’Brien| Transcript

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You need 4-inch heart, not 56-inch chest, to come to Parliament and talk about religious conversions: Derek O’Brien

We are not running away from a discussion. We want a discussion on the issue of conversion. We want the PM to come to the Rajya Sabha. You don’t need a 56-inch chest. You need a 4-inch heart.

Trinamool expresses solidarity with Janata Parivar meet at Jantar Mantar

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Statement by Derek O’Brien, National Spokesperson and Chief Whip in Rajya Sabha:

After Rajya Sabha adjourned at 2 PM, I drove to Janata Parivar meet at Jantar Mantar to express solidarity on behalf of TMC. The meet got over a few minutes earlier. We support the cause.

Do not play these dirty games, Mr Jaitley: Derek O`Brien

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National Spokesperson of Trinamool and Chief Whip in Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien today addressed a press conference at New Delhi today.

He slammed the Union Finance Minister for resorting to weekend bytes to put a spin to things. He also accused the BJP of targeting the Trinamool.

Here is what Derek O’Brien said:

  • Mr Jaitley is FM – Frustrated Minister – because he cannot get any bills passed in the Parliament.
  • Mr Jaitley is FM – the Falsehood Minister. We have filed two Privilege Notices against Mr Jaitley – one for misleading the House on Christmas issue and the other for lying to the House on Sarada case. Paragraph 39 of SC verdict states that SC has not appointed a Monitoring team for CBI probe in Sarada case.
  • Two days of Parliament are still left. If Mr Jaitley thinks he has seen the best of TMC, he is wrong.
  • Insurance Bill is not a reform. It is only being touted as a reform. This is not about TMC. This is about the nation as a whole. We do not need these so-called reforms.
  • Seven-eight parties parties are united in the Opposition. May be Mr Jaitley has made some promises to his Boss, which we are not aware of.
  • Let us not get into scams because I can also throw mud. Let us bring issues like that of the BCCI into the public domain. Let us see who is in charge and who is pulling strings in the BCCI.
  • It is unbecoming of the Finance Minister, who is also the Information & Broadcasting Minister, to put spins to certain things.
  • I raised a question in the Rajya Sabha yesterday, and I repeat it today. Were the Finance Ministers called? Yes, we are for GST. But the way these things are being done is not correct.
  • On the floor of the Rajya Sabha, political reality is there. BJP should pull up old records and see how they used to disrupt the Rajya Sabha. The BJP is now trying to find the villain of the piece and pass the buck on to Trinamool.
  • Mr Jaitley cannot use weekend bytes to try and put spin to things. Not at all. Not acceptable. This is not about Trinamool. This is about a United Opposition.
  • BJP should fight us politically. Do not play these dirty games, Mr Jaitley. Do not make it a street-slanging match.
  • Spinning media can help win election campaigns, but governance is serious business.

Derek O’Brien makes an intervention on GST | Transcript

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Trinamool Chief Whip in Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien today asked the Union Finance Minister to clarify on the compensation for States for any loss of revenue due to GST.

Transcript of Derek O’Brien’s intervention on GST

An Empowered Committee of Finance Ministers of 29 States was put together and the Hon’ble Finance Minister gave them a patient hearing and a lot of time, those including my State.

Sir, the question is, after that the Empowered Committee of Finance Ministers was given assurances; they had 2-3 very key points. The first point was compensation on CST, which was due to them, and there was the other point on petrol, aviation, etc.

Sir, will the Hon’ble Finance Minister please enlighten me and clarify to me, that after these Finance Ministers were promised another meeting, whether that meeting took place or only two-three ministers – the Finance Minister of Gujarat, the Finance Minister of Punjab – were called and the meeting was held? The other Finance Ministers are feeling slighted before this bill comes on, Sir, because they still would have some issues. I would feel happy if the Hon’ble Finance Minister clarifies.

Sir, there is also the issue of Rs 73,000 crore left over from the CST. Will the Finance Minister consider addressing that, Sir?

Derek O’Brien’s reaction to the Finance Minister

I posted two straight questions to the Finance Minister to which he replied with a humorous one-liner, but it was bereft of facts.