Tag: Vivek Gupta

Vivek Gupta asks a Supplementary Question on the providing of free Wi-Fi facilities by the Railways in stations in eastern India

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FULL TRANSCRIPT

Sir, through you I would like to know from the Hon’ble Minister that, if you look at the stations as part of the reply, in the northern part of the country, the central part of the country, the southern part of the country, even the western part of the country – there are more than 15 stations in each part of the country, but when it comes to the east, there are only two or three stations.

I would like to know from him, Sir, when does he plan to remove this discrimination and ensure that the eastern part of the country also enjoys Wi-Fi as the other parts of the country do.

Sir, I want to know is RailTel Corporation outside the Government of India? I thought it was a subsidiary of the Government, because in the answer to my question on the details of funds allocated and spent, that it is done by RailTel Corporation without any fund allocation from the Government? Sir, I want to know whether RailTel Corporation is a 100 per cent subsidiary, because the figures are not mentioned.

About the Wi-Fi being given free, we want to know from the Minister till when would it be given free? When do they plan to charge?

 

Vivek Gupta’s Zero Hour mention on the issue of missing student Najeeb

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Deputy chairman saab, aapka bahut bahut dhanyavad kuynki aapne ye mauka diya hai yaha khade hoke bolne ka.

Sir, ek chhatra hai, Najeeb, jo kayi mahino se lapata hai. Mera Zero Hour uske bare me hai. Najeeb ka matlab hai woh jo sarahaniya hai. Lekin Najeeb ke mudde pe JNU mein jo ho raha hai woh sarahaniya nahin hai. Warden ke report ke mutabik ye ghatna ghati 14 October 2016 ko, jis mein Najeeb aur kuch chatron shamil the. Woh chatro kissi rajnaitik dal se sambandh rakhte the, main uska naam nahi lena chahta hoon, aur waha ek jhamela hua.

Sir, wahan students, security guards, warden-in-charge, sab ne isko dekha aur iska report di gayi. Magar ashcharya ki baat ye hai ki Vice-Chancellor se le kar jo bhi adhikarik is university ke hai, kissi ne bhi is par koi action nahi liya. FIR bhi darj karne ke liye ladke ka Maa ko jana pada.

Sir, iske pehle ki sarkar bole ki ye university ka antargat mamla hai aur hum is mein hastakshep nahi karte, mai batana chahta hoon ki law and order sarkar ka mamla hai. Dilli ka law and order Kendra ka mamla hai.

Kya hum Najeeb ko sirf ek gumshuda statistics banne denge? Main kendriya sarkar se janna chahunga, aapke madhyam se, ki Najeeb ko khojne ke liye kya koi special prayas ki gayi hai? Ya ki woh sirf ek absent student jaise reh jaye ga? Jabki yeh clear cut political vendetta ka case hai aur hum dekh rahe hain ki kis tarha desh mein political vendetta cancer ki tarha fail rahi hai.

Agar sarkar mein koi hai toh unki toh prayas ye hona chahiye ki Najeeb ko kaise jald se jald khoja jaye, unke logon ke saath baat kiya jaye aur uski Maa ke sath baat kiya jaye. Ascharya ki baat ye hai ki Vice Chancellor ne uski Maa ke sath milne se mana kar diya hai. Sir, agar un mein samvedna nahi hain, woh to kendriya sarkar jaga sakti hai.

Sir, mera aapke madhyam se yeh hi request hai ki sarkar is pe koi uchit enquiry karaye, pata toh lagaye ki Najeeb ke gumshuda hone ke peeche ye kya karan hai. Mazein ki baat ye hai ki jo Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad is mein involved hai unse puchtach bhi nahi ki gayi. Agar unka koi special status hai toh ye bhi hum log ko batana chahiye.

Sir, ye political vendetta bada issue hote jaa raha hai. Main aapke madhyam se kendriya sarkar ke dhyan mein lata hoon ki ispe dhyaan dena chahiye, ispe uchit karvahi kiya jaye aur uchit statement diya jaye humein ki political vendetta par sarkar ka kya roop hai.

Dhyanyavad.

 

 

Trinamool MPs raise matters of public importance during Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha

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Trinamool MPs – Derek O’Brien, Vivek Gupta, Nadimul Haque – today raised several matters of public importance during Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha.

While Derek O’Brien spoke on securing interests of Indian IT firms creating value globally, Vivek Gupta demanded an investigation into the case of missing JNU student Najeeb. Nadimul Haque’s Zero Hour mention on honouring the glory of former sportspersons received support across the aisle.

“We need to protect the Indian IT companies. They play a positive role across the world. The software engineers are a jewel in the crown of Indian and international workforce,” Derek said.

Click here to read the full transcript of his speech.

Vivek Gupta said that the issue of missing student Najeeb is a clear case of political vendetta and wondered if Najeeb will become yet another statistic of missing person.

Click here to read the full transcript of his speech.

Nadimul Haque, in his speech, cited several examples of  several international medalists medallists who have become now drivers, stone quarry worker etc.

Click here to read the full transcript of his speech.

Vivek Gupta also made a special mention on the issue of federalism. “Centre has not given any moratorium to Bengal for debt relief but has helped foreign countries. Centre has done nothing for the shortage of IAS/IPS officers in the State,” he said.

He added, “Centre, of late, has been taking several decision arbitrarily without consulting the States. Centre has decided to remit money to MGNREGA directly. This is a direct attack on States’ fiscal independence.”

Click here to read the full transcript of his speech.

 

দেশের নানা গুরুত্বপূর্ণ বিষয় রাজ্যসভায় উত্থাপিত করলেন তৃণমূল সাংসদরা 

আজ রাজ্যসভায় জিরো আওয়ার চলাকালীন তৃণমূল সাংসদ ডেরেক ও’ব্রায়েন, বিবেক গুপ্তা ও নাদিমুল হক বেশ কিছু গুরুত্বপূর্ণ বিষয়ে সরকারের দৃষ্টি আকর্ষণ করেন।
এইচ ১বি ভিসা ইস্যুতে ডেরেক ও’ব্রায়েন তথ্যপ্রযুক্তি কর্মীদের স্বার্থ সুরক্ষিত করার দাবী করেন। জেএনএউ এর ছাত্র নাজিবের নিরুদ্দেশ হওয়ার ব্যাপারে তদন্তের দাবি জানান বিবেক গুপ্তা। নাদিমুল হক প্রাক্তন খেলোয়াড়দের অর্থনৈতিক অবস্থার উন্নতির প্রসঙ্গ তোলেন যা কক্ষে উপস্থিত সকলেই সমর্থন করেন।
বিবেক গুপ্তা বলেন, নাজিবের নিরুদ্দেশ হওয়া একটি রাজনৈতিক প্রতিহিংসার ঘটনা। তিনি সরকারের কাছে আবেদন করেন নাজিব যেন শুধুই নিরুদ্দেশের পরিসংখ্যান হয়ে থেকে না যায়।
নাদিমুল হক তাঁর বক্তব্যে  আন্তর্জাতিক পুরস্কারপ্রাপ্ত অনেক খেলোয়াড়দের প্রসঙ্গ তোলেন যারা এখন জীবিকা নির্বাহের জন্য পাথরের খাদানে কিংবা ড্রাইভারের কাজ করছেন।
বিবেক গুপ্তা যুক্তরাষ্ট্রীয় পরিকাঠামোর ব্যাপারে একটি ‘স্পেশ্যাল মেনশন’ পেশ করেন। তিনি বলেন, কেন্দ্রীয় সরকার বাংলার ঋণ মুকুবের ক্ষেত্রে কিছু না করলেও অন্যান্য অনেক দেশকে আর্থিক সাহায্য করছে। রাজ্যে আইএএস ও আইপিএস আধিকারিকদের ঘাটতি নিয়েও কিছু করেনি কেন্দ্র। তিনি বলেন, এই সরকার রাজ্যের সঙ্গে কোনও আলোচনা না করে অনেক সিদ্ধান্ত নিচ্ছে।

Vivek Gupta speaks on The Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws and Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Bill, 2016

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Deputy Chairman Sir, aap ka bahut bahut dhanyavad ki aaj aap ne mauka diya iss Bill pe bolne ke liye. Sir, main thora sa samay lunga, thora sa indulgence chahunga, ki aaj iss Bill par humlog kyun bol rahe hain. Aisi kya samasya hain jo humlog address karna chah rahe hain?

Sir, 76,300 cases pending pare huye hain May 2016 tak. Karib karib 2 lakh rupiya bank-o ka phansa hua hain court cases mein. Aur bade corporate jo hote hain, jo bade corporate ka naam sunta hoon, unki ek ek case mein lagbhag 500 hearings hoti hain aur uske karan poora process delay hota hain. Issi sab cheez-o ko shayad humlog address karna chah rahe hain is Bill mein, jahan tak mujhe samajh mein aaya hain.

Aur iske elawa shayad, jo hamare Mananiya Vitta Mantri ne kaha tha pichle Session mein, jab Insolvency Act pass hua tha, ki yeh charon Act aayenge – so this is enabling a continuous legislation. Aur ek aur problem bataya gaya tha, jo recovery officer judicial authorities mein kaam karte, unke training kam hain.

Sir, mujhe samajh mein nahin aa raha ki problem yeh thi lekin solution kuch aur dikhaya gaya hain. Main chahunga kabhi Vitta Mantri hum logo ko bhi samjha de apni bhashan mein, jab woh karna chahein.

Mein quote karna chahunga sabse pehle: ‘The DRT will become the country’s first online court.’ Sir, yahaan par gaon mein bijli nahin hain, internet nahin hain, aur humlog online online kar rahe hain. Un logon ke bare mein bhi sochna chahiye jinke paas bijli ya internet nahin hain. Mujhe woh is Bill mein kahin nahin mila. Un logon ke bare mein nahin bhulna chahiye kyunki different karne wala jo hota hai unko hamesha victim kaha jata hain.

DRT mein jo jane wala hain woh garib aadmi hain, kyun ki ek bada bank jab garib aadmi par attack karta hain, usi ke liye mein bolna chah raha hoon. Woh toh bank ke paas online suvidha hain, DRT ke paas online suvidha hain, jo victim jayega unke paas online suvidha hain.

Sir, doosra jo problem hain, banks directly guaranters pe chale jate hain, borrowers ko chor dete hain. Banks ko jo selective powers milta hain, is par socha jana chahiye. Sir, banks ko private businesses ke bare mein bhi khayal rehna chahiye. Jisko cheques milta hain banks se ya kisi sarkari sanstha se, jo cheques bounce hota hain, jo 3 crore cases pending hain usme kitne cheque bouncing cases hain uske bare mein koi nivaran nahin hain. Finance Minister Ji ne kaha tha jab Insolvency Act paas hua tha, ki yeh cheque bouncing aur negotiable instruments ke bare mein bhi amendments layenge ki logon ko rahat mil sake jinke cheque bouncing cases hain, woh bhi nahin.

Sir, yeh samajh mein aaya ki asset reconstruction companies (ARC) ko bahut space diya gaya hain iss Bill mein. Coincidence hain jaise hi FDI unme 100% kiya giya hain, job hi uske maange hain Bill mein kar diya giya hain. ARC zaroori hain, desh mein pragati honi chahiye, hum uske khilaf nahin hain. Magar Sir, hum ek cheez chahte hain.

Hamari sari State Governments mein debt ki itni problem hain, thora unke bare mein bhi sochiye, ki unka karz kaise thik ho sakta hain. Hamare West Bengal Government jo hain, 3 lakh crore ke karz se guzar raha hain. Banks ka halka sa NPA hota hain, unko aap recapitalise kar dete hain, Bill modify karne le aate, thora sa States ke bare mein bhi sochiye. States bhi aap ki hain. Banks toh paisa kamane ke liye hain. States toh development ka kaam kar kar rahin hain. States ka saath aap ka 100% relation hain, banks ke saath phir bhi toh 50% rishtedari hain. Toh States ko jab takleef hota hain, toh States ko kyun nahin dhyan dete hain aap debt ke upar mein? Kyun nahin aap thora sa madat karte hain – kyun nahin unko re-capitalise karte, unko madat karte? Sir, iska jawab mein Vitta Mantri se aap ke madhyam se chahunga. Sir, States ka sara kharcha development mein hoti hain. Banks audyogic growth karte hain, States development aur social growth karti hain, iske bare main sochna chahiye.

Sir, hamare Vitta Mantri Ji ka ek qur quote yahan karna chahunga, jo unhone sadan mein diya tha kuch din pehle: “States have to solve their own problems because of some previous problems they had.” Sur, States cannot solve their own problems. Aap ek taraf baat karoge cooperative federalism, federal structure, constitution ki. Sir, kya humlog yeh man le Jaitley Ji ke bhashan ke baad ki yeh one-way federalism hone wala hain? This is failed federalism. Yeh kaun sa federalism hain? Sir, yeh spirit of federalism mein ek tarah ka bhashan toh nahin hona chahiye ki States apni samasyaon ka samadhan khud kare. Agar Central Government aisi tarah pallah jhar degi State Governemnts se, tab toh ho giya federalism. Sir, mujhe toh kabhi kabhar yeh lagte hain yeh sab neeti-o ko dekh kar ki yeh camouflaged centralism na ho.

Sir, yeh jo banks ko jo powers de rahi hain, yeh debt recovery tribunals yeh sab, banks ke saath hum jab deal karte hain, ek banking ombudsman hote hain. Mujhe lagta hain DRT ka bhi ek ombudsman hona chahiye kyunki bahut bar dekha giya hain ki banks apne records ko thik nahin karte. Sir, recently case aaya hain Kolkata mein, High Court mein pending hain, jahan bank ne ek property nilam ke liye nikali, uska inspection nahin karaya, usko nilam kar kar diya. Baad mein pata chala ki paisa bank ke paas aaya hua tha. Sir, is tarah ke mamle aur bhi ho sakte hain, safeguards iss Bill mein kahan hain, yeh hume nahin mila, yeh Vitta Mantri ko aapke madhyam se hume bataye.

Sir, kuch sujhav hain, ki DRTs badaya jaye, appellate tribunals badaya jaye, un mein jo vacancies hain unko aap bhariye, aur inki pehle proper training karaiye. Aur Sir, issi tarah, jo karz lene wala hain, uske bare mein bhi sochiye, unko bhi vichar-vimarsh ke liye bulaiye, unki bhi genuine wishes hain. Unko sab on board le ke yeh kaam kariye.

Thank you, Sir.

Vivek Gupta speaks on Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2016 | Full Transcript

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Sir, pehle main aapko dhanyavad dena chahta hoon mujhe is Benami Bill par bolne ka mauka dene ke liye. Bolne se pehle ek purani Hindi film se do line sunana chahta hoon. Yeh sarkar shayad yeh hi khojne ki cheshta kar rahi hain:

Gumnaam hain koi benaam hain koi

Kisko khabar kaun hain woh anjaan hain koi

Sir, aj main khara hua hoon Bill ko support karne ke liye. Sarkar ka kale dhan ko wapas karne ke liye sarkar jo bhi kanoon banana chahti usme hum log hamesha saath the aur rahenge. But, Sir, kuch baatein dimag ke samajh main nahin aa rahi. Mein aap ke madhyam se mananiya mantra ji se clarification chahunga.

Sir, yeh ek proven fact hain ki 1% se kam abaadi jo hain yeh crimes commit karti kale dhan wale. Magar kanoon aisa banaye jaata ki 99% ko takleef ho jati hain. Main udaharan de ke bataunga. Is benami kanoon mein yeh kaha gaya hain ki kuch mahino main ya kuch dino mein aap ko bata dena hain ki benami hain ki nahi hain. Sir, ek hamara fauji hain, woh Kashmir mein jang lar raha hain, woh jang chor ke wapas aayega batane ke liye ki yeh property benami hain ki nahin?

Sir, criminal court mein bhi, CPC mein bhi 7 saal tak kisi bhi aadmi ko gumshuda nahin mana jata hain. Toh, Sir, yeh kis kanoon ko hum mane; alag alag kanoon mein, Sir, alag alag pravdhaan hain. Inko agar clarify karke ek jagah ek kanoon kar diya jaaye.

Thodi din pehle Sushma Ji bata rahi thi ki hazaron log Saudi Arabia mein phase huye. Ab jab tak woh wapas nahin aayenge, toh unki property yahan koi na koi benaam bata kar harap dega. Sir, unki madat kaise ki jaaye us bare mein hum logon ko sochna chahiye. Jabhi bhi iske rules bane, aisa pravdhaan hona chahiye ki jo log kisi bhi karan se do do teen teen saal bahar rehte – kaam ke liye rehna parta, kisi ko ilaaj ke liye rehna parta, kabhi koi kisi cheez ke liye rehna parta hain – toh unko unnecessary takleef yahan par nahin ho.

Sir, yeh Bill ki jo bhasha hain, jab humlog parte hain – meri samajh mein jo aa raha wohi bol raha hoon, agar Mantri ji chahe toh correct kar de, ho sakta hain mera samjha hua galat hain – yeh maan liya gaya hain is Bill mein ki jitne land records hain Bharatvarsh mein, sare computerised aur saare up-to-date hain. Matlab sab ko maloom hain sabki zameen kaun kaun kab kab kahan kahan hain, sabka demarcation hua hain. Sir, mujhe toh aisa nazar nahin aata hain. Agar Mantri ji bata de ki saare Bharatvarsh mein sari zameen ekdum computerised, digitised aur saara sab kuch hain, saare land records up-to-date hain, bahut badhiya baat hain. Lekin aisa baat hain nahin, Sir. Aur iske karan bahut baat vivaad hota hain.

Sir, doosra isme yeh maan liye giya hain ki Bharat ki jitne bhi nagarik hain woh kisi na kisi High Court ke aas paas mein rehte hain ta ki koi unki property benaami ghoshit karein aur turant 30 deen ke andar woh pahunch jaaye. Sir, mujhe nahin pata ki log court mein woh adjudication aur court ke prakriya se kaise guzar payenge.

Teesra, isme yeh maan liya gaya hain ki jo babulog hain aur jitne bhi log zimmedar hain, woh jitni bhi shikayetein honge woh ekdam samay samay mitwara kar denge. Sir yahan 3 crore cases pending pare huye hain, woh nahin salat rahin hain, complaints kahan se niptenge mujhe samajh mein nahin aata. Mein aapke madhyam se Mantri ji se puchunga agar woh kuch roshni daal sake toh bahut achha rahega.

Sir, is mein maan liye gaya, Mantri ji ko dhanyavaad dena chahta hoon aapke madhyam se ki unhone known source kar diya. Sir, abhi bhi magar source poocha ja raha. Sir, source mein ek basic problem aa rahi ki bahut saari sampatti hum logon ko paitrik milti hain – hereditary, jo generations se pass-on hoti hain. Toh clarifications nahin hain is mein ki woh paitrik jo sampatti aa rahi hain usko known source mein maan liya jayega ki nahin jayega.

Toh yeh sab kahin na kahin, main definition mein ‘of income’ hata diya gaua hain magar baki jagah abhi bhi yeh hain ki mujhe aay (income) se, yeh sampatti maine aapne liye arjit ki hain, yeh nahin ki mujhe kahin aur se mili hain. Sir, git bhi hota, bahut saare hain, toh woh known source mein aa jayega. Main chahta hoon agar mantra ji aapka madhyam se clarify kar de toh aur achha rahega.

Sir, mein kuch logon se baat kar raha tha – khaas kar income tax ke log aur jo law-wale hain – woh bol rahe ki bhai Standing Committee se gaya, sab jagah se gaya, magar hum logon ko bula ke hum logon se koi consultation nahi kiya giya. Sir, yeh dukhat baat hain, nahin hona chahiye tha, Sir.

Sir, kuch jo problems mujhe nazar aa rahi hai is Bill me, woh main aap ke madhyam se batana chahta hoon. Jo dusre logon ne kahaan wo me dohoraunga nahi. Videshi dhan ke bare mein kaha gaya, Sir. HSBC aur kayi log aa aa kar humein information de rahe hai, humhe aaj tak kuch nahi kiya.

Sir, yeh jo Bill hai, yeh 1988 se hai. Aap ke madhyam se yeh jaan na chahunga Mantri ji se ki 1988 se le ke aaj tak kitni benami sampatti ko humne pakra aur kya hua uska kuch ankhre hum logon ko de toh pata chalega ki haa ye kaam karyakar kai. Nahi toh Sir hum log sirf kaanoon banate jayenge aur koi fayda nahi hoga.

Sir, 2008 se organized crime pe jo report hai wo Parliament me pending pari hui hai aaj tak koi  karwahi nahi ki gayi. Us mein pura list diya gaya hai ki Bharat ke alag alag shehron me kaha kaha crime walo ki konsi benami sampatti hai.

Sir, Adjudicating Authority mein, ek income tax officer ko aur ek judge ko barabar kar diya gaya hai. Yeh ho nahi sakta Bharat mein. Isko thik kiya jaye. Is pe koi clarification diya jaye. Sir, appeal ke jo pravdhan hai, usko thik se define nahi kiya gaya hai. Is mein logon ko bahut problems ayegi baad me.

Sir, gaon mein – hum sabko pata hai, kayi log yahaan rural areas se hai – jaha trust nahi hota hai aur waha bank nahi hai. Humein prashno se pata chalta hai ki dur dur tak koi bank aur branches nahi hai. Toh wahan pe cash mein transaction karna parta hai.

Sir, bohot pahele yahaan pe ek proposal aya tha ki DEMAT facility di jayegi, logon ke record electronically store kiye jayenge, woh abhi tak nahin hua, yeh aapko aur humko bhi maloom hain. Gaon mein barh aate hain jis mein log, ghar beh jate hain, usme dalil bhi beh jati hain. Aise logon ko thori rihai honi chahiye, Sir.

Sir, ek hi admi ko alag alag kanoon mein alag alag prosecution hain. Is mein kayi kathinai aati hain. Yeh ek hi admi pe ED, Income tax ek sath toot padte hain aur, Sir ,usko bolte hain original record lekar aao. Woh kisko kisko dega uske bade mein bhi kuch synchronization ho jana chahiye.

Sir, main ye kanun pad raha tha. Main bahut bada vakil to nehi hu, thora sa kanun padke jo samajh mein aaya ke kahi kahi State ke laws ke saath conflict aayega, khaas kar tribal laws ke sath. Sir, is pe dhyan rakha jay, is pe kuch rule banaya hai is ko thik kar diya jaye.

Sir, do-tin suggestion hain. Jaisa ki hamare aur sathi ne kaha hum bhi chahenge jo ki land state subject hain, jab bhi aap confiscate karein, aap confiscate karne ke baad usko state ko handover kar de. Sir, yeh laws simplified bana dijiye ta ki logon ko, humko maloom hona chahiye ke kaun chor hain, kaun sadhu. Isko alag alag kar dena chahiye.

Aur Sir, time limits jo hain usko thoda sa relax kar dena chahiye jaise ki main ne kuch ghatanai bataya hain aapko un sab ke beech mein.

Sir ant mein ek line ke saath khatam kar raha hoon:

Pardanasheen logon ko ab beparda karne ka samay aa gaya hai.

 

Thank you sir.

Vivek Gupta speaks during Zero Hour about the alleged move to shift the Tea Board HQ from Kolkata to Guwahati

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Sir, through you, I would like to raise an important issue, the alleged move by the Central Government of trying to shift the Tea Board headquarters from Kolkata to Guwahati.

Sir, as you know, tea is a traditional crop of Bengal. Tea is one of the industries which, by an Act of Parliament, came under the Indian Government. The genesis of the Tea Board of India dates back to 1903 when the Indian Tea Cess Bill was passed. The Tea Board, passed under Section 4 of the Tea Act, 1953, was constituted on April 1, 1954.

But recently we are witnessing, Sir, that the employees are being harassed; they are being shifted to other offices in batches, they are being made to wait compulsorily. There is an alleged move, because a new political party has come to power in Assam, to shift the Tea Board headquarters from Kolkata to Guwahati.

Sir, I have full sympathies with Guwahati, our heart goes out to Guwahati, but this should not be done at the cost of Kolkata; we should not be made to suffer. Tea, with respect to Bengal, is as good as our hand is to our body. So, if you are taking the Tea Board headquarters away from Kolkata, it means you are chopping away our hands.

Sir, another point is, whether this is a part of a bigger design? It can be seen from the fact that the Chairman of Kolkata Port Trust and that of Damodar Valley Corporation are people who are not from Bengal. All such big decisions, whether it is appointing of chairmen or shifting of the Tea Board, are done without consulting the State Government, without taking into account the immense hardship the State Government and other employees will face.

Sir, I would also like to say that Bengal is not only the headquarters of the Tea Board, the Kolkata Port is there, auction houses have been there for centuries, warehouses are there; in fact, a lot of infrastructure is there, hence, a lot of jobs are there. Sir, the shifting of the Tea Board headquarters might be a symbolic shift but the problems as a consequence of it would be tremendous on industries and on everybody else.  

Thank you, Sir.

Special Mention | Vivek Gupta | Demand for waiving off mandatory provision of Adhaar card for getting benefits of government schemes in country

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Sir, crores of people are facing immense hardship everyday as the Government has made ADHAAR compulsory for receiving any Government subsidies. Although the Act says that it is not compulsory, and even the Supreme Court, in its order, has instructed not to make ADHAAR mandatory till such time everybody is covered, however, the Central Government is insisting on ADHAAR card.

A sizeable population of poor people in West Bengal don’t have AADHAAR cards, and also, there are no banks or post offices in the rural areas, which make it difficult for them to avail of benefits under the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme. In around 800 Panchayats, neither there are banks nor post offices. If there are no banks or post offices, how can one avail of Direct Benefit Transfer?

Most of these affected are the SCs, the STs and the OBCs. The State Government is opposed to making ADHAAR mandatory for labourers as over 40 per cent don’t have it.

Another problem is of people who have been allotted ADHAAR card but have not received the same. In West Bengal alone, over one crore people are yet to receive their ADHAAR cards and are thus being denied benefits of various schemes.

We demand that the mandatory provision for ADHAAR card should be waived off until there is 100 per cent coverage of ADHAAR in the country. I would request the Government to be sensitive to the problems of the people.

Special Mention | Vivek Gupta | Demand for adopting West Bengal model to reduce number of suicides by farmers in country

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Sir, the latest National Crime Records Bureau data showed that farmer suicides in the country have reduced from 11,772 farmers in the year 2013, to 5,650 farmers in the year 2014. This implies a reduction of more than 50 per cent in the number of suicides.

For the year 2014, there has been a change in the definition of a farmer while computing such suicides. It includes only those farmers who own and work on the field and who employ workers for farming activities. It does not include the agricultural labourers in this definition. Hence, I would like to draw the attention of the House towards the fact that this farmers’ suicides data for the year 2014 does not really show the complete picture of farmer suicides in the country.

The total number of farm labourers who committed suicide in the year 2014 was 6,710 farmers. If this number is added to the farmer suicides reported in 2014, it adds up to 12,360 suicides. This number is, in fact, higher than the total number of suicides for the year 2013, which was 11,772 suicides. The change in methodology seems to present a skewed picture of the real situation of farmer suicides in the country. I would like to draw the attention of the House on this issue.

In Bengal, not a single farmer suicide has taken place. The Central Government would do well to learn the Bengal model and use it in rest of the country to save lives.

Vivek Gupta’s Zero Hour Mention on potential fungal infections of rice and wheat

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Through you I want to bring to the notice of the Hon’ble Minister for Agriculture today that India is facing a very serious threat of wheat blast and rice blast. Already the disease has reached Bangladesh and that is where the origin has been confirmed. Sir, since 1985, this is the first time the disease has reached South Asia; that is why, there is no knowledge about the disease.

Sir, the disease is also caused by a fungus called Magnaporthe oryzae, about which India has no knowledge. It is reportedly because of the repeated and excessive use of nitrogen in our fertilizers. Sir, it spread very fast but the Government has already gone ahead and said there is no reason for any panic, that this is a wheat fungus and we can take care of it. The disease is also known to resist chemical treatments and genetic treatments.

Sir, the damages in various countries because of this disease is enough to feed 60 million people every year. Already, 15,000 acres around West Bengal on the Bangladesh side have been damaged. Whether it is a matter of a few months or days or weeks, we don’t know, when this will reach Bengal and the other parts of India.

Sir, through you I would request the Hon’ble Minister to urgently take steps to prevent this from reaching India and to make the farmers aware on how to combat this disease because of farmers will also be affected. Also, Sir, some states of these diseases also mix with rice and wheat in such a manner that it remains undetected, and it is only detected when it is consumed by humans, and then they ultimately die.

Sir, every Indian eats about 4 kg of wheat every month. So, this is a potential danger for which the Central Government needs to take resolute action along with providing necessary financial and technical assistance to State Governments to deal with such an impending danger.

Thank you, Sir.

 

Trinamool dominates Parliament on Day 2 of Monsoon Session

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Trinamool dominated the Parliamentary proceedings on the second day of Monsoon Session in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Playing a responsible Opposition, Trinamool MPs spoke on matters of national importance and took part in debates on important Bills.

The day started with the leader of the party in Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien raising the issue of the site of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam’s resting place lying in utter neglect and slow progress of the work of building a memorial for the late President of India.

In Lok Sabha, leader of the party Sudip Bandyopadhyay demanded answers from the government on low conviction rate in case of cyber crimes. During Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, Nadimul Haque asked the government about its plans to tackle the menace of spitting.

During a Calling Attention Motion in the Upper House of the Parliament, MP Ahmed Hassan Imran grilled the government on its flood management programmes and demanded that the compensation criteria for States be revisited.

Vivek Gupta participated on behalf of the party in a discussion on the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012 in Rajya Sabha while Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Dr Ratna De Nag participated in discussions on The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and The Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2016 respectively in Lok Sabha.