Budget Session Week 4: Trinamool puts forward views on crucial Bills

Budget Session Week 4: Trinamool puts forward views on crucial Bills

Posted on April 1, 2017 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The fourth week of this Budget Session saw Trinamool Congress MPs putting forth the party’s views on important Bills like the GST Bills, The Appropriation (Railways) Bill, 2017 and The Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016. Issues of political, economic and social urgency like the Indo-Bangladesh Teesta Water Treaty and the crackdown on meat-sellers were also spoken on. The party’s MPs also asked questions and made Zero Hour mentions on important topics.

LOK SABHA

March 27, 2017

Bills
Saugata Roy made a Point of Order on the GST Bills.
Saugata Roy spoke on the Indo-Bangladesh Teesta Water Treaty.
Ratna De Nag spoke on The Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016.
Idris Ali spoke on The Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016.
Mumtaz Sanghamita spoke on The Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016.

Question Hour
Mumtaz Sanghamita asked Supplementary Questions on child labour.

Zero Hour
Idris Ali made a Zero Hour mention on the problem of flooding in his constituency.

March 28, 2017

Bills
Mriganka Mahato spoke on The National Institutes of Technology, Science Education & Research (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016.
Aparupa Poddar spoke on The Collection of Statistics (Amendment) Bill, 2017.

Question Hour
Sultan Ahmed asked Supplementary Questions on the death of CRPF jawans in red zones.

Zero Hour
Saugata Roy made a Zero Hour Mention on communal clash in Gujarat.

March 29, 2017

Bills
Kalyan Banerjee spoke on the GST Bills.
Saugata Roy spoke on the GST Bills.

Question Hour
Tapas Mandal asked Supplementary Questions on the poor quality of food served in trains.
Kalyan Banerjee asked Supplementary Questions on fast-track courts.

March 30, 2017

Bills
Saugata Roy spoke on the amendments to the Finance Bill, as recommended by the Rajya Sabha.
Saugata Roy spoke on Sustainable Development Goals.

Question Hour
Bijoy Chandra Barman asked Supplementary Questions on the new coal block allocation policy.

Zero Hour
Ratna De Nag made a Special Mention seeking the reopening of a cancer research centre in Chandernagore.
Dasarath Tirkey made a Special Mention on the damages to tea gardens in Alipurduar district during monsoon.

March 31, 2017

Bills
Saugata Roy made a Zero Hour mention on the situation in Kashmir.

Question Hour
Ratna De Nag asked a Supplementary Question on neurogenetic testing facilities.

Zero Hour
Aparupa Poddar Zero Hour mention on the need for better infrastructure in Ajmer to accommodate pilgrims during Urs.

RAJYA SABHA

March 27, 2017

Bills
Sukhendu Sekhar Roy spoke on The Finance Bill, 2017.

March 29, 2017

Bills
Vivek Gupta spoke on The Finance Bill, 2017.
Sukhendu Sekhar Roy made a Point of Order on the Finance Minister’s reply on The Finance Bill, 2017.
Debabrata Bandyopadhyay spoke on The Appropriation (Railways) Bill, 2017.

Zero Hour
Vivek Gupta made a Zero Hour mention on the need for uniform travel advisories across airlines.

March 30, 2017

Bills
Derek O’Brien sought clarification from the Railway Minister on The Appropriation (Railways) Bill, 2017.

Question Hour
Sukhendu Sekhar Roy asked a Supplementary Question on the nuclear reactors located in Kovvada.

March 31, 2017

Bills
Derek O’Brien raised a Point of Order on not tabling a Bill on a Friday afternoon.

Zero Hour
Md Nadimul Haque made a Zero Hour mention on the crackdown on meat-sellers across the country.

Question Hour
Manish Gupta asked a Supplementary Question on artificial insemination programme for cattle.
Vivek Gupta asked Supplementary Questions on internet connectivity to Gram Panchayats in Bengal.

It was a fruitful week for the party.

Mumtaz Sanghamita speaks on The Footwear Design and Development Institute Bill, 2017

Posted on March 31, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Thank you Sir, for giving me permission for speaking on The Footwear Design and Development Institute Bill, 2017. I am welcoming this Bill. Footwear and other leather and allied materials like bags, briefcases, even accessories used in automobiles, interior and furniture decorations, are widely used in modern life. It is a widely traded commodity globally.

The first key word in the Bill is ‘design’. The design material tells about status, style, position and profession of a person and the establishment. Importance of proper fitting has already been narrated by my colleague.

There was an article on the present trend of leather in interior, furniture and fashion dresses in Vogue recently. The scope of the footwear and leather design is becoming popular in all over the world.

In the health sector, besides designing for orthopedic uses, in different shapes, shoes also prevent some contaminated diseases. There’s hookworm and other worm infections that go in via foot and because of open defecation and goes via foot to sole and then to blood. In pre-toilet era, under NRHM programme, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and many other States supplied hawai chappal to villagers to prevent that. The simple solution of safeguarding the foot from soil and dirt is also narrated long back in a satire poem of Rabindranath Tagore called ‘Juta Aabishkar’ (Discovery of Shoe).

The second key point is that of development – research and innovation of newer models, research in inventions of newer alternatives as it is probably very much necessary in present context of our political and government situations. Newer alternatives and similar material Indian ledger and allied industries are scope of growth in terms of local consumption as well as global export. In global perspective, China is number one, Italy is the second and India is in the fifth position. The matter of raw material, local conjunction, as well as export in China is good, that is why China is in the first position.

India also has enormous scope of improving the leather industry because we can get the materials but unfortunately due to some reason or the other the simple sample line maybe stopped in near future. India’s shifting from mere raw material to value added exporter – also local consumption – is also increasing. India shares about 12.2 percent of global export and in coming years it will be much more if we tr and if we don’t create barriers in the raw material. Major shares of our export goes to US,UK, Germany. Export of footwear contributes about 47 percent, accessories is about 23 percent, finished products 18 percent and garments also 9 percent but footwear has gone down in percentage.

Per capita footwear use has increased in India. Kolkata holds the second position for production, as well as exporting of the goods. 25% of tanning is done in Kolkata, and 50% of finished leather goods are exported from here only. Footwear and leather industry plays a vital role in Indian economy; besides export, this industry is most labour consuming. It has huge scope of youth employment. In leather industry there are a quiet number of women folk, who do the basic work of shoes at home. This is the industry which has immense scope of women empowerment, but I do not know how much the establishment of this institution can do it.

This is the reason why the present institution in question is of national importance. This Bill is very pertinent to this context. It deals with the institution for education, research and innovation of modern technique as regards footwear, and other leather products. The Clause 1 is regarding the title of the Bill, I wonder why is it only regarding footwear, there are other portions also. Instead of footwear only, leather and allied articles can be incorporated. The Bill is regarding establishment of an educational institution to uplift the footwear, and leather industry to national and international level.

The directive body as it has been said is Governing Council with Chairman, Managing Director, and footwear and leather technology expertise. Why should there be an industrialist in the council? That may create a problem.

The Bill deals with formatting, running, remuneration, tenure, study and working. Courses will be determine and decided by the council. The courses are about designing, making, researching and those sort of things. Institutions like the LDC are already in existence. But, they have no power to confer degrees. Now, we are trying through this Bill to give that power to the institutes. But what will be the value of diploma degrees to these people? Where will they be employed; this has not been made clear in the Bill.

In fact, the Centre should set up more skill development centres so that the smaller productions and the smaller tanning institutions will be able to employ these skilled persons. So that they can grow and get established.

The relation of the branches is also not clear. There are several branches, what is the relation between the brands, how will you recruit the students? How will you recruit the teachers? And also, what is the qualification of the teachers? How will the tuition fees be cleared? What about the promotions of workers through institutions? How can the skilled manpower be used to create small factories – or even big factories. We all are aware of world-famous Bata and Khadims brands.

These issues are not clear in this Bill. Thank you very much.

Trinamool’s Derek O’Brien raises a Point of Order on not tabling a Bill on a Friday afternoon

Posted on March 31, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

This is with reference to Rule 29. Please see page 236 of the Revised List of Business, on the Factories (Amendment) Bill. This happened when the Enemy Property Bill came up too, Sir.

This is a Friday afternoon, it is an earnest request not to put this in the List of Business because we discussed something in good spirit to not to list a Bill on a Friday afternoon even if the business of the House collapses. Give us the assurance that this Bill will not be taken up today.

Vivek Gupta asks Supplementary Questions on internet connectivity to Gram Panchayats in Bengal

Posted on March 31, 2017 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Sir, through you I would like to know from the Hon. Minister, out of the 3,354 gram panchayats in West Bengal, as mentioned in this report, only 219 have been lit. Sir, while I was studying this report, I was also studying some other data. This is way below the national average; in any other State, the work that has been done is much more. I am also happy to know that the money that is being spent is increasing every year. But even after increasing the money, the number of gram panchayats being given electricity is still very less compared to the national average.

Also, I have asked about gram panchayats, and it is mentioned in the reply about optical fibres that have been laid, the trenching and ducting that have been done. So, Sir, what is the link between the digging of the trenches and last-mile connectivity, that is, connectivity to the households.

I thank the Hon. Minister for his reply and hope he follows up on his reply fast. The Minister in his reply has mentioned that 25,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots have been set up by the rural telephone exchanges of BSNL. Sir, I would like to know, through you, from the Hon. Minister that how does he plan to bridge the gap between the gram panchayats and the households; because Sir, the last-mile connectivity that he just mentioned, this 25,000 is nowhere near sufficient to make it available to each and every household, which is very essential for the Digital India programme.

Aparupa Poddar speaks on the need for better infrastructure at Ajmer to accommodate pilgrims during Urs

Posted on March 31, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Ajmer is a popular tourist attraction and a major pilgrimage site. It is estimated thousands of pilgrimage visit the holy shrine at Dargah Sharif from all over India and abroad.

During Urs, Ajmer is beyond its capacity. The surrounding areas near the Dargah urgently need a facelift. There was an announcement of 10 iconic religious places including Ajmer-Dargah Sharif to be under the standard operating procedure for observing international standards.

Sir, my demand is the basic facility should be given to the people coming from all over India and abroad.

Saugata Roy speaks on the situation in Kashmir

Posted on March 31, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Sir, last year I had accompanied the Hon. Minister in an All-Party delegation to

Jammu & Kashmir. Now the situation in Kashmir is so grave that I think the Home Minister should step in again.

The Jammu & Kashmir Police Chief on Thursday asked the youth to resist from the practice of storming encounter sites to pelt stones at the security forces during raging battles with the terrorists. He described the practice as tantamount to committing suicide. In the encounter even security forces’ General takes cover of bullet proof vehicles or a house. The youth coming to encounter sites are committing suicides. Director General of police told reporters while appealing the youth to stay at home during encounters.

“A bullet does not see who is coming and who it will hit. So my appeal to all the young men is as in the past they should remain in their homes and not come to the site of the encounter. Of course stone pelting is not desirable at all.”

I also appeal to the youth not to come into encounter sites. He was addressing reporters here two days after three civilian protesters were killed in Central Kashmir, Cheddur Pocket, when they indulged in stone pelting during anti insurgency operation. More than 60 security personnel were injured in the stone pelting by the youth and at least 30 protesters were hurt in the firing of bullets and pellet guns by the security forces to protect themselves from the enraged bomb. The DG said the youth were being misled and misused by elements inimical to peace in the Valley for their short term political games.

The situation is grave and serious and I would like the Home Minister in step in to the situation.

Nadimul Haque speaks on the crackdown on meat-sellers across the country

Posted on March 31, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Sir, the Constitution guarantees us certain freedoms. We are all one. The Prime Minister talks of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ but sirf kehne se nahin, karke dikhana hoga. We have to do it, to make it meaningful. The Government has to be for all. We need to safeguard our Constitution and allow it to guide us”.

The Constitution of India grants us Fundamental Rights which guarantees civil liberties. Our right to Freedom incorporates the right to practice any profession or occupation of our choosing to earn a respectable living and lead a life of dignity.

Sir, the recent events happening in states across the country paint a worrying picture of the lack of inclusiveness in our country. Reports have been pouring in of meat shops being shut down at a moment’s notice not only in Uttar Pradesh, but in Jharkhand, and other States also.

If the aim was to shut down illegal slaughterhouses, it could have been done in a proper manner. Most of the shopkeepers and butchers come from the backwards section of society, and have followed these professions for generations. They may not know the legal technicalities. The Government could have raised an awareness campaign, or at the very least afforded them some time to upgrade their shops and abattoirs as per legal norms. We are talking about 25 lakh people losing their livelihood, their families without any means to sustain themselves. This arbitrary crackdown on butchers and meat sellers is an encroachment on their right to earn a living.

The sudden clampdown on abattoirs has resulted in widespread economic and social distress in the Rs 15000 crore industry. Meat sellers have gone on strike, resulting in a huge shortage of meat and prices skyrocketing. 14% of GDP of Uttar Pradesh is also at stake.

The strike has in turn also affected other industries like leather (tanneries), export and hotels. This is leading to a huge economical loss. Reports are circulating of how even tigers and lions in zoos are being fed chicken meat, which they are refusing to eat. The government should have drawn a road map and assessed the impact of such a drastic move before implementing it.

The duty of a responsible government should be to safeguard the rights and freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution to all citizens. Otherwise, we will eventually turn into a Police State. What people do for a living or what their preferred food item is, cannot, and should not, be dictated by the State. I would urge you to look into this matter urgently and take the necessary steps to ensure equality for all as enshrined in our Constitution.

Sir I want to end with a couplet

Tere bandish ka jawab nahin.

Parathe khao, kebab nahi

Munh se niwale kyun chhin lete ho,

Koi mare ya jeeye, saath nahi

Ratna De Nag asks a Supplementary Question on neurogenetic test facilities

Posted on March 31, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Thank you, Madam. Neurological and neurogenetic disorders are one of the greatest threats to public health. Unless immediate action is taken, the neurogenetic burden is expected to become more serious and unmanageable.

What initiative has been taken by the Hon. Minister to deliver affordable diagnostic tests and treatment to the Indian urban and rural Committees for better qualities of life?

Saugata Roy speaks on Sustainable Development Goals

Posted on March 30, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Madam we are discussing on a Motion under 193 brought by Anurag Thakur on Sustainable Development Goals health and welfare for all. Before I begin, I must thank the honorable Speaker that she has been perusing this issue of Sustainable Development Goals with persistence. Not only in Delhi, she had a Commonwealth Women MPs’ meeting at Jaipur in August 2016, where this was highlighted. Then again in Indore she had an Asian Speakers’ Summit this year where she highlighted the Sustainable Development Goals. So, here through the intervention of the Speaker we have made progress.

Madam, you know this issue of Sustainable Development Goal came up during the Presidency of Gro Harlem Brundtland, the Norwegian Prime Minister who provided the definition of Sustainable Development that was used for the next 25 years. This was in 1925.

This intergenerational concept of Sustainable Development was adopted at the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development at Rio in 1992. The definition of Sustainable Development has evolved to capture a more holistic approach linking the three dimensions of sustainable development, economic development, social inclusion and environmental sustainability (as per vision of Sustainable Development was emphasised at 2012 Rio+20 Conference).

Madam, I need not go into the details of what are the 17 goals of Sustainable Development. They are – no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, decent work in economic growth, industry and infrastructure, etc.

You will notice that all these 17 goals are interlinked. For instance good health and well being is linked to clean water and sanitation. Even gender equality is linked to this; unless women get equal attention in health matters, how will maternal health improve? And all this is linked again to economic growth.

So, the point is to have a holistic view, on the whole matter and that is why it is necessary to discuss the goals at length. Let us see about how progress has been made in this matter. In child health, throughout the world 17,000 fewer children die each day than in 1990 but more than 6 million children die before their fifth birthday every year. Maternal mortality has fallen by almost 50 percent since 1990 but in Eastern Asia, North Africa and Southern Asia maternal mortality has declined by about two thirds. But proportion of mothers who do not survive child birth compared to those who do is still fourteen times higher in underdeveloped regions than in developed regions.

One only half of women, we are talking about gender equality, only half of women in developing regions receive the recommended amount health care. Lastly, maternity maternal mortality rate – MMR – from 437 per lakh live births in 1991 came down to 167 in 2009. In 2009, 72 percent deliveries were institutional so there has been a big progress.

The next the big challenge towards health is HIV AIDS. By 2014,there were 13.6 million people accessing antiretroviral therapy, an increase from 8 lakh in 2003. India has made significant tide in reducing the prevalence of HIV and AIDS across various highest categories. Adult prevalence has come down from 0.45 percent to 0.27 percent in 2011. We have made progress in bringing down the number of those affected by HIV AIDS. Madam, the newer HIV infections in 2013 were estimated at 2.1 million which was 38 percent lower than in 2001. So newer cases are also coming down with antiretroviral therapy and at the end of 2013, two lakh forty thousand children in India were infected with HIV through their parents.

Having said that, let us judge, what are the big goals for 2030 for India?

By 2030, for India and the World.
By 2030, reduce Global Maternal Mortality Rate to less than 70 per lakh childbirth.
By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborn children under five years of age.
By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases etc.
By 2030, reduce one-third premature mortalities from non communicable diseases.
By 2030, strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse including narcotic drug abuse and alcohol.
By 2030, that is upto which our Sustainable Development Goal is, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health care service, including for family planning information and education.
By 2030, achieve universal health coverage including financial risk process protection.
By 2030, strengthen the implementation of World Health Organisation Framework Convention on tobacco control in all countries,
By 2030, support the research & development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and noncommunicable diseases,
By 2030, substantially increase health financing. Send then the capacity of all countries in particular developing countries for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks.

Madam, I have more or less tabulated, formulated the big problems today.

Health care is not about doctors only. I know Madam, you are a reputed pediatrician yourself, and a dedicated person who still does a lot of pro-bono work for poor children; we admire you for that. But, as has been stated earlier, doctors are considered demi-gods by the patients and their relatives. But, they do not act as demi-gods.

In India, as specially in my State of West Bengal, 90% of the people are still dependent on government hospitals and public health care. The big hospitals and nursing homes have all come up in big cities, and they are money-minting machines. They are not giving people treatment; they are sucking money out of the system. Madam, you know that in West Bengal the situation became so bad; there were several attacks on hospitals after patients died and huge bills were imposed on them. Our West Bengal Government enacted a Clinical Establishment Act in which there is a proposal to set up a commission to go into the bills raised by the hospitals.

I think it is very essential for the Government that some control be brought on them. Madam, I feel there should be some standard practices prescribed – in which condition what investigations can be done, whether a patient should be sent into ventilator or ICU, and a standard protocol should be devised to control them. Madam, you know in this House we have discussed how the Government should control the price of stents, which, when costing Rs 40,000, the amount charged is Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. The Government has taken some steps to control that.

You know about the price of drugs: because of WTO regulations, the prices of drugs have gone up very much. We are paying the price for patented foreign drugs, which are abnormally costly. The Government has a drug price control order. I want it to be implemented strictly so that prices of drugs, especially those manufactured by multinationals, are suitably brought down. There has been an effort by the Government to bring down drug prices and I appreciate that.

Madam, you are from West Bengal and are aware of the efforts West Bengal Government has done in the field of medical treatment. More than 100 fair price medicine shops have been opened in West Bengal, where generic medicines are being distributed with up to 70% discount. Madam, you also know that in West Bengal, in the government hospitals all treatment including cardiac surgeries.

Here in this house, while perusing sustainable development goals, let me condemn all attacks on doctors anywhere. Doctors are human beings. I do not believe that any doctor will let a patient die willingly. In Bengal also whenever such attacks have happened, our Chief Minister has taken the strongest possible action. We are ready to pull up doctors. We are ready to punish doctors through the legal means not by these types of attacks.

Madam, your father, Dr Gopal Das Nag, was also a high class GP; we are forgetting the concept of GP or the family doctor. Madam, nowadays there are only specialistsor super specialists. There are no family doctors who advise a person on his health status. I think we need such people.

There is a saying ‘prevention is better than cure’. It is necessary to educate people on health habits. When I was in the Ministry of Urban Development, we started a competition called the hand-washing competition; it is just one simple thing to make people aware about washing hands before eating to prevent many diseases. Although I have differences with the ruling party but I like the initiative taken by them regarding Swach Bharat Abhiyaan as It prevents open defecation. This is one of the main sources of preventing diseases and I would always like to advise everyone that we must pursue clean habits.

I would like to bring to your notice that 65% of women in India suffer from anaemia, why doesn’t the government arrange to give them iron tablets free of cost. We have recently passed the Mental Healthcare Bill. We need people with healthy body and mind. Let this be our sustainable development goal. Make the hospital approachable and do not make the hospital a butcher house where poor patients and their families are murdered. Let us march towards a diseases free, physically and mentally healthy India. With these words, I would like thank you for giving me the time to speak.

Dasarath Tirkey speaks on the damages to tea gardens in Alipurduar during monsoon

Posted on March 30, 2017 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Thank you Chairman Sir for giving me the opportunity. I want to attract the attention of the Ministry of Water Resources. My constituency Alipurduar in located in north Bengal and has many big rivers. During monsoon these areas are flooded and specially the tea gardens face a huge economic loss. I want to urge the Ministry to take steps to prevent such losses in future.