Tag: Rajya Sabha

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

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.

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.

Pass on the benefit of fuel price reduction to the common man: D Bandyopadhyay | Transcript

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Trinamool MP Debabrata Bandyopadhyay today spoke in the Rajya Sabha during a discussion on The Appropriation Bill, 2014. He requested the government to pass on the benefit of fuel price reduction to the consumers.

Full transcript of his speech:

In a market economy, when international prices go down, our petroleum and other fuel prices also go down. Then, why does the Government always enhance the Excise Duty and thereby does not allow the benefit to be passed on to the consumers? That is my short point.

If the prices go up, you increase the price, if the prices go down, you want to cap it. I do not like this. I request the Hon’ble Finance Minister, through you, to withdraw the Excise Duty and request the Government to pass on the benefits to the consumers.

Saradha Scam: Trinamool gives notice for Privilege Motion against Arun Jaitley

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Trinamool Congress today gave a notice for Privilege Motion against Leader of Rajya Sabha and Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, alleging that he had misled the House on the issue of the CBI investigation into the Saradha scam.

In the notice, Chief Whip of the party in the Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien said that the Finance Minister had said, “The case is being monitored by the Supreme Court. CBI acts independently in the case and reports to the Supreme Court. The Government has nothing to do in the matter.”

However, Derek O’Brien cited the Supreme Court verdict in the Saradha scam case:

Paragraph 39 states:

We do not, for the present, consider it necessary to constitute a Monitoring Team to monitor the progress of the investigation into the scam. But, we leave the exercise of that option open for the future.

Paragraph 40 states:

The Writ Petitions and T.P.(C) No. 445 of 2014 are disposed of in terms of the above directions. No costs.

He urged the Chairman to “to move a Privilege Motion against Shri Arun Jailtley under Rule 187 for misleading this august House.”

privi der

Privilege Motion against Arun Jaitley

Why is the PM missing from the Rajya Sabha? – Derek O’Brien | Transcript

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Chief Whip of the party in the Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien today demanded that the Prime Minister must be present in the House during a debate on communal violence.

“Nine Opposition parties… 140 MPs speak in one voice… Where is His Master’s Voice? Where is the Prime Minister?” asked Derek in the Council of States.

Full transcript of his intervention:

Sir, I know this discussion has been moved by me; this is a very serious discussion. Sir. There are nine Opposition parties… 140 MPs speak in one voice… Where is His Master’s Voice? Where is the Prime Minister?

We can see selfies. Does he need a visa to come here? Do we need to issue a visa for him to come here? He must come to the House and participate in the debates. Why is he shying away?

Nadimul Haque speaks on the Taj Mahal controversy | Transcript

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Sir, there is a controversy regarding the property rights of the Taj Mahal. It was declared a monument of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India under the provisions of the Ancient Monuments, Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1951.

Sir, subsequently, UNESCO declared it a World Heritage site. Now Sir, a controversy has been triggered by the demand that the Taj Mahal should be handed over to UP Sunni Waqf Board, which manages Muslim places of worship and burial grounds.

Sir, certain members of the Hindu community countered the demand by saying that Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan purchased part of Tejo Mahalay’s temple land from Raja Jai Singh and claim that documents prove it still exists.

Sir, there is also a rift between the Shia and Sunni communities. Mumtaz Mahal, the Mughal queen, who is interred in this monument, was a Shia Muslim while her husband, Emperor Shah Jahan, who is also interred here, was a devout Sunni Muslim.

The Taj Mahal, Sir, is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. It should not be made a part of any controversy as this will affect the flow of tourists to the city of the Taj, that is, Agra. Sir, the Taj Mahal is one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. It is a prime tourist attraction, and attracts the most number of foreign tourists to India.

Sir, we urge the Government through you to immediate take necessary action to resolve all the controversies so that the issue may not divide communities and thus create communal problems.

Sir, Shakeel Badayuni, in an Urdu couplet, has said, ‘Ek shahenshah ne banwakar haseen Taj Mahal/ Saare duniya ko mohabbat ki nishani di hai.’

I end with saying this: that the character and status of the Taj Mahal must not be disturbed under any circumstance, no matter who says what.