Sudip Bandyopadhyay speaks on secularism and communal harmony during Zero hour

Sudip Bandyopadhyay speaks on secularism and communal harmony during Zero hour

Posted on August 1, 2016 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Hon’ble Speaker Madam, I want to say that we Indians are firm believers of secularism and communal harmony. We are also believers that unity and diversity should be our integral national philosophy. But of late we are witnessing that Dalits and Muslims are being tortured in different places of the country.

We should rise to the occasion. India as a country must ensure that every section of the society has the the right to live with prestige and dignity. We also demand that the people who are carrying out violence in the name of gau raksha must be dealt with harshly as per the laws.

Only by giving advertisements in different newspapers government’s success cannot be projected. The government must demonstrate that it is serious about maintenance of secularism and communal harmony in the country.

Sugata Bose speaks in LS during Question Hour on Project Mausam

Posted on August 1, 2016 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Thank you Madam Speaker. India has played a very major role historically in creating a shared cultural universe across the Indian ocean arena. In fact when our poet Rabindranath embarked on his Indian Ocean voyage, he described his journey as a pilgrimage to retrace India’s entry into the universe. This is a worthy initiative. However, this is not just an academic project, it is very much projecting India’s soft power in the entire Indian Ocean world.

I would like to ask the minister if his ministry faced any obstacles from any other country in pursuing this project and whether the Ministry of Culture is coordinating with the Ministry of External Affairs to ensure that we can successfully implement project Mausam.
Thank you.

Monsoon Session Week Two: A purposive week for Trinamool in Parliament

Posted on July 30, 2016 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Trinamool Congress raised various issues in both the Houses of the Parliament during the week and urged the Government to take appropriate steps.

In the Upper House, the Trinamool Congress utilised the Zero Hour, the Question Hour, the Calling Attention Motions to the fullest and took part in several discussions.

Question Hour

Trinamool Leader of the Parliamentary Party in Rajya Sabha Derek O’Brien urged Centre to set up a committee to address concerns of debt-stressed States during Question Hour (http://goo.gl/3fds2m). Later in the week he again the Government what steps it was taking to make medicines affordable prices, and ensure that prices are not affected by FDI (http://goo.gl/q1rvwx)

MP KD Singh also questioned the Government on allowing of taxis in private airports (http://goo.gl/4G8Qsr).

Saugata Roy questioned the Centre on its stand on small tea gardens during Question Hour in LS (http://goo.gl/tTWlJN) and also the shift of Tea Board HQ from Kolkata to Assam (http://goo.gl/ljJOm2).

Ratna De Nag raised a question in LS regarding the mechanism of preventing banned drugs from being sold in the country (http://goo.gl/TPE8tn).

Prasun Banerjee’s question to the Central Government was on popularising football in India by strengthening the federation (http://goo.gl/4sHqmB).

Mumtaz Sanghamita, during Question Hour in Lok Sabha raised the issue of investment in development of airport/airstrips and also questioned the government on the withdrawal of the Air India flight from Durgapur where it is much needed (http://goo.gl/PMCrGU).

Zero Hour

MP Dola Sen, during the Zero Hour spoke regarding the demand for elimination of unmanned level crossings in the country (http://goo.gl/UPOHjq).

Sukhendu Sekhar Roy raised the issue of scholarships for minority students being during Zero Hour (http://goo.gl/cGA8gL) and Ratna De Nag raised the demand of expanding the subway at Bhadreswar station (http://goo.gl/xOmMDM).

Aparupa Poddar demanded allocation of funds for pilgrimage to Tarakeswar during Zero Hour and also introduction of special trains during the annual pilgrimage to Tarakeswar (http://goo.gl/lYvQqf). Whereas Pratima Mandal spoke on the need of a level crossing at Piyali railway station to ensure easier movement of vehicles and students across the Piyali River (http://goo.gl/8JDnDd).

Nadimul Haque in the week, during Zero Hour he raised the demand for release of scholarships to minority students (http://goo.gl/STr8ID) later in the week.

Special mention

Trinamool MP Md Nadimul Haque during a Special Mention urged the Government on the need for a law against spitting in public places (http://goo.gl/92m0FN).

Trinamool MP Ahamed Hassan Imran, during a Special Mention raised the issue of reduced Central funding of schemes (http://goo.gl/Gfbxf4) which is against the spirit of cooperative federalism. He later spoke on drug pricing during a Calling Attention Motion.

In a Special Mention Dola Sen spoke on the need to replicate successful models in combating Left Wing Extremism (http://goo.gl/2UEbM6).

Discussion

During a Short Duration Discussion on the situation arising out of the rise in prices in the country (http://goo.gl/k9nsWa), Derek O’Brien pointed out that Government is very good at communicating on social media sites. But when it comes to basic issues like price rise, they have forgotten the people that gave them this historic mandate in 2014 people that brought them to power.

The Trinamool Leader of the Party in Rajya Sabha also raised the issue of Aadhaar card being made mandatory for receiving Government benefits and pointed out that there are a lot of people who are suffering and not getting pension and several other benefits (http://goo.gl/VqpX6e).

Trinamool Chief Whip at Rajya Sabha, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy took part in a short duration discussion on Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014 (http://goo.gl/cB9KIs) where he demanded that assurances made by the then Prime Minister on the floor of the House must be fulfilled.

In Lok Sabha, the Trinamool Congress Trinamool Chief Whip Kalyan Banerjee took part in several discussions including The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2016 (http://goo.gl/OTGrfx), on The Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Amendment) Bill (http://goo.gl/HZpoba), on The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2015 (http://goo.gl/9d7qHI) and protested the issue of Aadhaar card being made mandatory, during a short discussion (http://goo.gl/ThrEhX).

Trinamool MP Dr Sugata Bose took part in several discussion including the Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Amendment) Bill (http://goo.gl/iugFHh).

Sugata Bose, while speaking in LS regarding an enabling regulatory architecture in higher education institutions stated that Jadavpur University from West Bengal is in the 500-600 range of the world rankings of the TIME’s higher education supplement. On the subject of education (http://goo.gl/1nz5Df) Saugata Roy also spoke in Lok Sabha on The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and stated that IIT Kharagpur was a pioneer in the field and for the first time it started courses in naval architecture. Aeronautical engineering and agricultural engineering which were not taught anywhere else in the country (http://goo.gl/ENKkWp).

Saugata Roy raised the issue of Chinese incursion in Uttarakhand (http://goo.gl/4w9Lau). While speaking on The Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2015 Saugata Roy mentioned that the Bill should not become another cursive instrument in the hands of revenue department to forcibly collect taxes (http://goo.gl/QZj9NP).

During a discussion on price rise in Lok Sabha, Saugata Roy criticized the central government stating their motto seems to be imposing cess on everything under the Sun (http://goo.gl/k9ITy5).

Ratna De Nag spoke on The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2016 during which she stated that even after 69 years of independence; we are unable to stop child labour in our country (http://goo.gl/HDsRVU) whereas Aparupa Poddar mentioned that child labour is a highly social evil and the root cause of child labour is poverty (http://goo.gl/l5xuvV).

Nadimul Haque took part on a discussion on The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2016, and stressed on the Trinamool Congress’ view on the ‘Rights of the Forest’ (http://goo.gl/uuhZGP)

Pratima Mandal speaks during Zero Hour in LS on rural post offices

Posted on July 29, 2016 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Madam more than 20 years back my father had donated an office room to open a post office in his village with the intention to motivate and encourage poor villages to use the facilities of post offices and at the same time to protect them from the private moneylenders.

Being a public representative of a rural constituency, I have experienced that most of the rural post offices are running either at the house of postmaster or at some villager’s house.

I would like to ask the Hon’ble Minister, through you, Madam, whether the ministry has conducted any survey to know the actual number of post offices running in such a manner and what steps have been taken in this regard.

Kalyan Banerjee speaks in LS during Question Hour on fire in ordnance depots

Posted on July 29, 2016 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

As reported on 31 May 2016, 130 tonnes of anti-tanks mine blew up at the army’s ammunition depot at Phulgaon, Maharashtra killing 19 people including two army officers. Central Ammunition Department is located about 90 km from Nagpur, spread over an area of more than 7000 acres and stores a variety of ammunitions and explosives in large number of sets.

The CAD comes directly under the Army Headquarters and is responsible for all India supply of ammunition and explosives after receiving them from Ordnance Factories and other sources. The CAD then supplies the items to various ammunition departments and field ammunition depots for their works. Five villages near the CAD were evacuated immediately after the fire had taken place. It is also reported that the Hon’ble Defence Minister went there and visited the spots also.

Madam, I want to know from the Hon’ble Minister, through you, if any full-fledged inquiry from the highest level of Army for the cause of such fire has been made. If so, then what is the fate of such inquiry and whether reasons have been identified and accountability has been fixed or not.

My question was not about the recommendations. what are the reasons of the fire and whether those responsible have been identified or not.

Madam, the Hon’ble Defence Minister has said that during last CES only one incident has happened. On the basis of the report which is available to me, I can say that this is not the case. Another incident had occurred on 8 December, 2015 and five persons were injured when a fire broke out during a regular exercise in Visakhapatnam. There are so many repetitions earlier also. I can give the dates. On 26 March, 2010 a major fire broke out in the Panagarh Depots in West Bengal, but no causalities were reported. But the depot suffered a huge loss. On 4 December, 2008, in Bhuj, Gujarat, two army men were killed in the blaze at the Bhuj depot after bombs exploded during routine inspection of old and outdated ammunition. On 12 August, 2007, 2 army men and a civilian were killed and 40 others injured in a major fire at Ordnance Depot in South Kashmir. On 29 April 2001, a huge fire broke out in ammunition dump of the army’s cantonment near Pathankot, Gurdaspur District but no casualties were there.

These repetitive fire disasters in the Ordnance Depots show the carelessness of the Government. They have not looked into the matter for more than a decade.

My question is whether repetitive fire disasters at Indian Ordnance Depots are caused because of only laxity of the Central Government, deviation from the standard operative procedures in the installation or is there any act of sabotage.

Ratna De Nag’s question in LS on One-stop Centres

Posted on July 29, 2016 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Has the Ministry has constituted any committee or panel for the effective monitoring of the implementation of the Pharma Committee recommendations regarding women’s safety?

Saugata Roy speaks in Lok Sabha during a discussion on price rise

Posted on July 28, 2016 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Sir, thank you for allowing me to speak on the motion. Prices are linked essentially with economic and monetary policies. So it is in the fitness of things that the Finance Minister is here. But I have never heard, maine kabhi aapka itna kamzor bhashan nahin suna. You are pinning your hopes on good monsoon and as the Finance Minister your are busy rationalising the reasons for increase in the prices of dal. Hopes do not fill empty stomachs. You must offer solutions.

When the prices of petrol came down from 110 dollars per barrel in the global market to 30 dollars per barrel, you had a windfall. But you did not pass on the benefits to the people and instead invested the money on infrastructure.

I want to remind the treasury benches that farmer suicides have become record high during the NDA rule. No tears have been shed by Modi ji for them. He is busy on foreign tours and has no words to spare for the hapless farmers. No word was spoken about the farmer suicides in Maharashtra in the last two years.

The economic policy of this government is based on two pillars: one is the windfall due to global fuel prices and the other is imposition of cess. Their motto seems to be impose cess on everything under the Sun

Sir, I want to mention the reply Ram Vilas Paswan gave in this House on 19 July. He cited the reasons for increasing inflation. He said that rise in the prices of essential items is due to shortfall in production due to adverse weather conditions, increased transportation costs, supply chain constraints like lack of storage facilities, and hoarding and black marketing.

I have another reply by the minister on 10 May. It says, ‘increase in prices of food prices is mainly on account of shortfall in production due to adverse weather conditions, increased transportation costs, supply chain constraints.’ I would request the Minister to ask his officers to at least make some changes while giving answers.

When a similar discussion was held earlier in 2015, the Minister’s final reply was not given. You had just intervened. There was hardly any difference between that intervention and today’s reply by Jaitley ji were indistinguishable. Both are mere apologies.

I want to place a few figures before you today. Prices of gram dal have increased by 53.72% in one year, tur dal – 42.3%, urad dal – 48.33%, sugar – 34.7%, potato – 31.72%, tomato – 43.97%.

This is a precarious situation. Consumer price inflation was 5.77% in June, 5.76% in May. Food inflation was 7.79% in June, 7.47% in May. Inflation in vegetables was 10.77% in May and 14.74% in June. The rural people are the biggest sufferers. Retail inflation in rural areas is 6.2% whereas it is 5.26% in urban areas. Rate of inflation is lowest in Bengal among States.

We are taking several initiatives in Bengal to control rising prices. In Kolkata 30 fair price vegetable shops are being run. Vegetables are being procured directly from farmers at Kisan Mandis. Such Mandis are being set up in every block. We want to see some initiatives from the Centre also. Improve infrastructure to preserve perishable items like fruits and vegetables. This calls for public investment in agriculture infrastructure and attracting private investment. Ninety per cent of public investment in agriculture is made by the States. Center is not making any investment. This is a sad reality. People’s incomes are being squeezed and the middle class and the lower middle classes are falling in great difficulties.

The government talked about hoarding and black marketing. It must be controlled. Essential Commodities Act is under the state jurisdiction and rightly so. But what is the amount of actual recovery?

Value of goods confiscated under the Essential Commodities Act updated up to 31-3-2016 is Rs 72.24 crore. Now total food grain trade in India would be several lakh crores. Rs 72 crore that is recovered in the dishoarding confiscation is miniscule. What is this figure less in States ruled by BJP? Even in a big State like Madhya Pradesh, a big State in India, you have confiscated only Rs 92 lakh.

The Centre must show some empathy to the people of the country who are in great distress and take some concrete steps.

With these words, Sir, I conclude my speech.

Thank you, Sir.

Kalyan Banerjee speaks in LS on the issue of Aadhaar card being made mandatory

Posted on July 28, 2016 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Madam, I am raising a very important issue. Aadhaar cards have been made mandatory for receiving financial benefits and subsidies from the Government, including LPG subsidy, Government scholarships, provident fund, pension, food security and other bank transfers.

Madam, in West Bengal alone nearly one crore people have not received any Aadhaar cards from UIDAI. As a result, many poor people have been deprived of such benefits. This mandatory necessity of Aadhaar cards should be removed in the country and it should be made optional.

Madam, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has said that Aadhaar cards should not be made mandatory for receiving benefits from the Central Government. Four states – Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal – are all raising this issue with the Central Government repeatedly. Our Hon’ble Chief Minister has spoken the Hon’ble Prime Minister and other Ministers also.

Now, Madam, the consequence is this: by reason of non-availability of Aadhaar cards, crores of poor and BPL people are not receiving any benefits. We need an assurance from the concerned Minister that Aadhaar card would not be made mandatory for people to receive benefits.

One of our MP’s mother is not receiving her pension because of Aadhaar card. One journalist yesterday told me in Delhi that his mother is not receiving pension because of the non-availability of Aadhaar card. Therefore, Madam, I request that, immediately this provision of mandatory Aadhaar cards for receiving benefits should be waived until and unless each and every person in this country out of 124 crore people, get Aadhaar cards. It should not be made compulsory, Madam. That is our request.

Saugata Roy speaks in LS on Chinese incursion in Uttarakhand

Posted on July 28, 2016 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Madam, the Chinese troops were active in the Bara Hoti area of Chamoli District, Uttarakhand. Uttarakhand Chief Minister on Wednesday confirmed that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had transgressed the area earlier this month. The transgression came to light when Chamoli district officers had gone to Bara Hoti on July 19 to collect data on landholding. They noticed Chinese troops on the ground while a helicopter even hovered over the area five minutes before returning to their side.

According to Home Ministry officials the PLA troops told the officials to go back as the area belonged to them. They told the Indian team that they recognized the area as ‘uje’. The official said Chinese helicopter could have carried out a real photography of Bara Hoti. The PLA troops however did not cross the canal in Bara Hoti that has become the unofficial demarcation line between India and China.

Uttarakhand shares a 350 km boundary with China. And this instance is not the first incident of transgression by China. The Central Government should take immediate steps to counter Chinese aggression and transgression into our land. And we expect a statement from the Home Minister or the Defense Minister on this issue.

Mumtaz Sanghamita speaks during Question Hour in Lok Sabha on investment in development of airport/airstrips

Posted on July 28, 2016 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Madam, when Indian Airlines was operative, there were many flights for regional connectivity, for example, there were flights on the routes Kolkata to Ranchi, Kolkata to Patna, Kolkata to Jaipur and others. But after Air India and Indian Airlines were merged, these services were all stopped. On the other hand, Indigo and other private airlines are running flights on these routes, sometimes even twice a day.

Why has Air India stopped its flights to and from the newly-built Andal airport? Although it has been said that it will not be cost-effective, that is not the case. I believe that flights from Delhi to Durgapur to Kolkata are really needed.