Rajya Sabha – Page 39 – All India Trinamool Congress

TMC slams Govt in RS for overusing ordinances | Transcript

Posted on March 4, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Leader of Trinamool Congress in Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien today slammed the Government for overusing ordinances. He was speaking on the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

Full transcript:

Sir, I have only two lines on this Bill, but a little more to say on the Statutory Resolution of mine.

On the Bill itself we do not have any issue. It is a very good idea to merge PIO and OCI Schemes, and to make it easier for people to avail of this. In my own family, my wife and my brother are in this category. So this is very good, no issues at all on the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

Sir, the issue is the broader one, of using ordinances and there has been a lot of talk in the last three weeks as to who used more ordinances.

I have to make 4-5 points on this, Sir. Please allow me to make these points.

Firstly Sir, let us look at the history of these ordinances, because the Finance Minister when he was here was throwing the numbers of 800 ordinances issued by the Congress. So I think we need to get some clarity on who is the bigger sinner here.

Let me give you some history Sir, and some real numbers.

When Pandit Nehru was the Prime Minister of India, if you take the numbers of bills passed to ordinances, for every 10 bills they passed there was one ordinance. Then we come to Janata Party, during the Janata Party Government, for every 10 bills they passed they had 1.5 ordinances. Then for every 10 bills of the Indira Gandhi government passed, it issued around two ordinances. UPA I and II, for every 10 bills passed, they had 1.9 ordinances. NDA, for 10 bills passed, they had two ordinances.

Now, you come to the real figure of the current Government, in the last nine months for every 10 bills passed, 4 ordinances have been passed. T

his is the first point, I want to register Sir, too many ordinances, but in the first place, why an ordinance?

Ordinance is when the Legislature is not in session and immediate action is required.

Now, what was the immediate action required?

There are three very relevant dates here Sir. First, the Prime Minister made a speech at the Madison Square Garden on September 28, 2014. Fine, I have no problem with that. On December 23, 2014 this Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha. We convened on February 23. What was hurry that Bill introduced on December 23 in the Lok Sabha that you had to bring an ordinance n January 6, 2015?
My contention is Sir, it was not required to be introduced in such a hurry.

Sir, let me give you two quick examples. There has been a good reason why there have been ordinances. Morarji Desai Government of 1978 issued an ordinance because of the demonetisation which took place of Rs 1000/5000/10000 currency notes. It was a matter of importance and urgency. In 2013, UPA II brought a Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance; we all know the reason why it was brought Sir.

Sir, the point here is this is an issue of propriety. Nobody says we do not want ordinances. The same issue now currently is becoming a major bone of contention, through the ordinance route, is the FDI in Insurance. The Bill is now a property of Rajya Sabha. Now we know another bill has been introduced in the Lok Sabha. The two bills are identical. All my colleagues have asked you for Ruling on this Sir. So, again it is creating some confusion.

Sir, I would not like to take up any more time. Just to remind this House that the makers of the Constitution and all the very senior people who have set up precedence here and have given us some examples. We must tread cautiously. We must tread carefully. This is the message I want to leave to the Government today. Please tread cautiously and please do not bulldoze your way and remember what the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha said.

The first Speaker of Lok Sabha said, “If ordinances were not limited by convention only to extreme and urgent cases, the Government may go on issuing ordinances and Parliament will have no option but to be a rubber stamp.”

Sir, let it be known that nobody wants and nobody can make this August House a rubber stamp. As I said, we do not have any issue on the Bill, but I thought within the Rules of this great Parliamentary democracy, I could use this opportunity to bring up my Statutory Resolution to make my points on dangers of misusing ordinances.

I want to also assure the Minister that when the Statutory Resolution is moved in the end, I won’t move it, so he can breathe easily.

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.

Derek O’Brien raises question on communal incidents in the country | Transcript

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Sir, the Minister has stated that the number of communal incidents has gone down by 22%. But even he knows that the reality of the number and perception is completely different. There maybe a 222% change.

Sir, my question is what is the definition of a communal incident? Are these incidents due to:

a) Use of loudspeakers

b) Rumour mongering

c) Technology

And my question specifically to the Minister is this. If you are saying the number of communal incidents have come down, will you share the figures?

There is another category called ‘Others’. So how much has ‘Others’ gone up, because in that category, all other incidents – including the communal incidents – can fit in.

So, here’s the question, give us the figures of ‘Others’ so we know how many communal incidents took place. Sir, my colleague asked about the church burning… SIT was constituted in December, 2014. No progress has been made. If church burning is not a communal incident then what else is?

United Opposition leaves the Govt red-faced in RS

Posted on March 3, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

The government on Tuesday faced an embarrassment in the Rajya Sabha when an amendment moved by the Opposition to the President’s address over corruption and black money was passed.

Sukenddu Sekhar Roy had moved amendment no. 357 in the RS to the motion of thanks, saying there was no mention in the address on the failure of government to bring back black money. Another MP from the Opposition moved a similar amendment no. 233.

The united Opposition – Congress, Samajwadi Party, JD(U), TMC, BSP, BJD, DMK, CPI, Kerala Manila Congress and other parties – came together to pass the amendment through division.

There were 118 votes in favour of the amendment while 57 against it.

Reacting to the show of Opposition unity in the Upper House, National Spokesperson and Leader of Trinamool Congress in Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien said, “This wondrous parliamentary democracy of ours has a mechanism to deliver strong messages to the government. Today the united Opposition did just that.”

This is the fourth time in Rajya Sabha’s history that an amendment moved by the opposition to the motion of thanks to the President’s Address has been passed.

Derek O’Brien makes a Special Mention on relief of debt stressed states | Transcript

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Full transcript:

There is no denying the fact that my State West Bengal is suffering from huge debt burden since 2004 – 2005, according to the Government records. An office memorandum of the Finance Commission dated October 24, 2005 in which 11 States including Kerala, Punjab and West Bengal were included, in the indicative list of debt-stressed States.

The current West Bengal Government has inherited from the previous Government, which ruled West Bengal for 34 long years, a sum of Rs 2,03,000 crore as the debt burden.

From day one, our Hon’ble Chief Minister has made repeated appeals, to the Central Government to kindly consider the request of a temporary relief, interim relief in the form of moratorium on the principal amount as well as restructuring of the interest amount.

In the report of the 14th Finance Commission, there is no mention of any moratorium. The grant-in-aid announced is like a single drop in an ocean. Sir, through you I want to request the government that the demand of West Bengal about the debt burden, along with other debt-stressed states, should be considered in right earnest and in the right perspective.

D Bandhopadhay speaks on agricultural losses due to recent rains | Transcript

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Full transcript:

Sir, we were told that Indian agriculture depended on vagaries of monsoon. With less than 50% of the arable land still remaining non-irrigated, late monsoon or scanty rainfall create drought conditions adversely affecting agriculture.

Similarly, heavy rainfall, particularly if it is untimely, causes equally adverse effect on agriculture. In the winter light rain fall is necessary before flowering of wheat and also potatoes, but if it rains heavily it becomes a curse.

This shower if it had happened earlier would have been highly welcomed by the farmers. Today it has become a curse for them. We do not have any firm figures and these are still being estimated, but the guess is it is going to be severe unless very strong sun comes out and brings relief. What is tragic is that good harvest is there, but we have lost out on it, like a boat having reached the shore but sinks.

Sir, states affected as per the information in the newspaper are northern parts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Special assistance should be given to all farmers and it should be taken as a matter of force in future for all similar activities. The crops affected by the temperature collapse are; wheat, mustard, gram, potato, mango flowers, early mango in the western region, grape, cashew nut and orange.

So, this phenomenon reiterates the early need of Universal Crop Insurance. Without any cumbersome procedure those farmers whose names are in the record of the rights should be given compensation and the small insurance fee may be realised from them along with taxes so that no bureaucracy creates more hindrances.

Sir, with this, I would like that the Government takes steps for all the affected states and arrange for economic rehabilitation of those farmers who have lost their crop.

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.

Nadimul Haque speaks on Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address | Transcript

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Full transcript:

Deputy Chairman Sir, main aapka shukraguzar hun ki aapne Sadr e Jamuliya ke Motion of thanks mein bolne ka mauka mujhe diya. Maine kafi Members ki baate suni, lehaza mai apni baat jaise aap ne kaha, mukthasar o jamm rakhunga.

Sir, nayi sarkar ko takriban nau mahine ho gaye, aur hum sabh jante hai ki nau mahino mein bahut saare umidein puri ho jaati hai. Hum ne socha tha barsat mein barse gi sharab, ayi barsat to barsat ne dil tor diya.

Main shuru hi me yeh puchna chahta hoon, ‘kya huwa tera wada?

Main yehi sawal uthana chahta hoon, ki sarkar ke waado aur action me itna farak kyun hai? Aur yehi farak kisi ek mamle tak mehdut nahi balki har shobe pe nazar aata hain. Ab MGNREGA ko hi le jiye. Is Guarantee Scheme se ab ‘Guarantee’ shabd gayab ho gayi hain.

Jab ke social sector aur public work programme main iska shumaar duniya ki badi scheme main hota hai. World Bank ne bhi isko tezi tarrakki ki missal scheme ka bhi darja diya hai. Leken maujuda sarkar ne kya kiya? Sarkar ne is scheme ke tehad, blocks ki share ghata diya hai aur mazdoor or saman ke ratio me bhi tarim kiya hai . Kaya eh behtar nehi hota, ki yeh saab karne ke wajah agar sarkar rehsatto aur gram panchayat ki madad karti, ta ki MGNREGA ke zariye productive assets paida kiya ja sakta hai.

Yeh kehana galat nehi hoga, ki Presidential Address mein social sector ko nazar andaz kiya gaya hai. Jaha health budget mein Rs 6000 crore ki katauti ki gayi, wohi defense budget main Rs 13000 crore ki kami hai. Hadd to yeh hai ki pichle 9 mahino main petrol aur diesel par lagi excise duty main char martaba izafa huya hai.

Chairman Sahab, yehe sara House janta hai ki jis din budget pesh kiya gaya, usi raat tel ki kimat me fir izafa kiya giya. Khas dhyan mein rakhne ki baat yahi hai ki agricultural growth ab negative ho gaya hai.

‘Chaman main fasle bahar aayi, aur guzar bhi gaayi, main fikhiri mein raha, aashiya banane ki.’

Saab, Sadr-e-Jamuliya ne apni speech main cooperative federalism ka zikr kiya hai. Mere aur hamari party ke khayal mein federalism ko sirf cooperative hi nahi operative bhi hona chahiye.

Kehne ka maksad hai, Marqazi Hukumat yani Central Government ko riasaton se bhi shikhna chahiye.

Saab, aaj apko ilm hoga ki magri Bengal ki hukumat ne Kanyashree nami scheme launch kiya hai jiske tahat ab 22 lakh ladkiyo ko faida pahunchaya hai. Hamara lakshya hain ke agle do barso mein is figure ko 44 lakh tak pahunchaya jayega. Aap ko yeh jan kar khushi hogi ki UNICEF ne bhi Kanyashree ki tarif ki hai aur ab yeh scheme UNICEF ki partnership ke sath chal rahi hai.

Kya yeh behtar nahi hota ki Markazi Hukumat bhi riyasaton ki kamyab schem sare mulk mein lagu karein? Afsos ki baat yeh hain ke pichle jamuryan ke parade mein Kanyashrre ke tableau ko nikalne ki ijazat nahi di gayi.

Chairman Saab, main Bengal ki Ma Mati Manush sarkar ko salaam karta hun ki usne koi aise kadam uthaye aur welfare projects shuru kiye jiski wajah se Jangalmahal ilakon mein extreme left wing violence main zabardast kami ayi hain. Left Wing tashuddhut ek kamyab muquabla ke liye aise ek dum par apni ek kaumi yah national model banaya ja shakta hai. Aur jaha jahan yeh violence hota hai, wahan use lagu kiya ja sakta hai.

Chairman Saab, hali mein Hukumat ne Land Acquisition Ordinance ka ikhtala kiya hai. Isse kabl, Land Acquisition Act mulk mein lagu tha. Ordinance ke jariye Act ki koi protective provisions ko hatha diya gaya hai. Maslan, social impact assessment ki ab zarurat nahi, sattar pratisad tasir khandanon ki izazat ki zarurat nahi. Is Ordinance ke tehed ab multicrop aur irrigated zameen ko bhi haseel kiya ja sakta hai. Yeha mei kehna zaroori samaztha hun ke Trinamool Congress wahi party hai jisne UPA II mein bhi Land Aquisation Bill ki bukhaifat ki thi.

Akhir mein mein yeh kahunga, ki hamare mulk mein kasrat mein wahdhat ki mishal di jati hai, yani unity in diversity. Hamare mulk ki yeh ek nishani hain aur yeh unity sirf baton tak mehdoot nahi, balki action mein bhi zahir honi chahiye.

Sir, before me a Senior Leader has said, Unity in Diversity can be beautiful in action like the Indian cricket team. Hamari party ne Parliament mein ek alag kism ki Unity in diversity ka muzhara kiya hai.

Hamare pehle speaker ek Christian the, dusre Hindu aur tisra mein apke samne khada hun. Yeh koi mansuba ya planning ke tahad nahi kiya gaya lekin aisa hua. Yehi hamare mulk aur hamare democracy ki khubsurati hain.

Main apni baat ek sher ke saath khatam karta hun:

Waqt bhi dekha hai tarif ki nazaron ne
Woh Waqt bhi dekha hai tarif ki nazaron ne
Lamhon ne khata ki thi, sadiyon ne saza payi

Translation:

Deputy Chairman Sir, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak on the Motion of Thanks on the Presidential Address. I have heard all the Members and as asked by you will keep my speech within the time frame alloted.

Sir, the new Government has been in power for nearly nine months now. We all know it is good enough time to culminate some of the expectations. But alas, the government has failed to live upto our expectations.

Firstly, I would like to ask what happened to the promises that were made?

Why is there a difference between your promises and your actions? It is not just me but everyone in the country is beginning to notice this difference.

For instance MGNREGA. Unfortunately, ‘Guarantee’ in this ‘Guarantee Scheme’ has been neglected. This Scheme which was taken up as an example by the World Bank has now lost its essence due to the change in the labour to material ratio and reducing the allocation of blocks for this Scheme. Wouldn’t it have been better instead of doing this, the Government helped the Gram Panchayats to create productive assets?

It would not be wrong to say that in the Presidential Address the social sector has not been mentioned. The health budget has been reduced by Rs 6000 crore whereas the Defense Budget is short by Rs 13000 crore. The irony is the night of when the Union Budget was tabled, the petrol and diesel prices were once again increased. The agricultural growth has also now turned into negative.

Sir, the President in his speech has mentioned about cooperative federalism. My party and I think federalism should be both cooperative and operative. I mean to say that the Central Government should also learn from the states.

Sir, you may be aware in Bengal under the Kannyashree scheme, launched by the local Government, has benefitted 22 lakh girls. Our aim is to reach out to 44 lakh girls in the next two years. You will be happy to know UNICEF has appreciated the Scheme and now has partnered with it as well.

Sir, I salute the Ma Mati Manush Government in West Bengal for bringing out such welfare scheme through which the extreme left wing violence in Jangalmahal has been reduced. This model can be adopted by the Central Government too, to combat the common issue in other states of the country.

Sir, recently the Union Government has announced Land Acquisition Ordinance. There was already a law in practice before in the country. Through this ordinance the government has removed the protective provisions in the law. Through this Ordinance it will be easy to capture multicrop and irrigated lands without the consent of the farmer families. Trinamool Congress is the only party which had opposed the Land Acquisition Bill of UPA II Government.

Sir, our country is an example of Unity in Diversity. Before me a senior Leader has said, Unity in Diversity can be beautiful in action like the Indian cricket team. My party practices this as the speaker before me was Christian, the next Hindu and I am standing before you Sir. This is not planned course of action, but the beauty of our country and democracy.

Main apni baat ek sher ke saath khatam karta hun:

Waqt bhi dekha hai tarif ki nazaron ne
Woh Waqt bhi dekha hai tarif ki nazaron ne
Lamhon ne khata ki thi, sadiyon ne saza payi

Vivek Gupta makes Special Mention on IMR and universal immunization in India | Transcript

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Full transcript:

Sir, the gravity of child mortality in India varies significantly among the States. While West Bengal has succeeded in meeting the national targets, many States have a high infant mortality rate. We are missing the targets of Millennium Development Goals (MDG) – 4 and child survival goals under the 11th and the 12th Five Year Plans, falling short of the target of 27 per 1,000 live births by a considerable 15 percentage points, with the present level of 42 per 1,000 live births.

Neo-natal mortality is one of the major contributors to infant mortality, amounting to 68.5 per cent of the National Infant Mortality rate. Social determinants are as important as the direct cause of such deaths. In India, malnutrition, poverty, mother’s health, medical care, immunization. Health conditions are major causes of persisting significant rates of under-five mortality and infant mortality.

As regards the number of children dying due to pneumonia and diarrhoea, which occurs in 15 countries of the world, India has the highest number of such cases. About 40 per cent hospitalization of below-five years of children is due to rotavirus. India is expected to cover about 89 per cent children for immunization against measles by 2015 and, thus, likely to fall short of universal immunization by about 11 percent.

West Bengal has already achieved the national level MDG target of under-five mortality rate with 38 per 1,000 live births. The Government has not taken any serious measures for curtailing such an alarming situation. The need of the hour is to create a stage-wise action plan that includes nutrition, sanitation and vaccination to reduce these high figures of children’s mortality.

Parliament: Trinamool corners Govt during Zero Hour

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Trinamool MPs today slammed the Centre in both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha during the Zero Hour and the Question Hour.

In Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien joined other Opposition parties in cornering the Government over the manner in which they were handling legislation. He said the government should have propriety and should not set any bad precedent.

Sukhendu Sekhar Roy raised his concern over use of land earmarked for Air Traffic Control to build a shopping mall at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.

In Lok Sabha, Professor Saugata Roy and other Opposition parties condemned the statement made by the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir; he demanded a clarification from the Government of India.

Highlights of Derek O’Brien’s intervention:

We have raised the issue of precedent. Last week there was an attempt made by the Government to withdraw some Bills. That attempt was unsuccessful. The point I want to make is that of precedent; equally, and even more, important is proprietary. History should be the judge whether this should be done.

Highlights of Sukhendu Sekhar Roy’s intervention:

Three acres of land within Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at Kolkata, which was earmarked for construction of new five-storied technical block of the Air Traffic Control and an 80 ft tower, which has now been proposed and transformed into a shopping mall. The way this Government is trying to privatise everything by compromising the safety of the air passengers to and fro from the city.

Highlights of Saugata Roy’s intervention:

I am speaking on the Adjournment Motion on the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister’s statement on Sunday, where he had thanked Pakistan, the militants and the Hurriyat, for the conducive atmosphere created during J&K Assembly polls. Yesterday, the Hon’ble Home Minister was kind enough to clarify that the Government of India did not associate with the views expressed by the Jammu and Kashmir CM.

The Home Minister mentioned that he had spoken to the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister had informed him that the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister had not told him about his views regarding Pakistan. So, obviously, the statement of the Home Minister is at variance with that of the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister. In such a case, we would like the Hon’ble Prime Minister to clear the air about such a sensitive issue coming from a newly elected Chief Minister of a State, which is a border and a sensitive state.