August 8, 2023
Saugata Roy speaking on the Motion Of No-Confidence In The Council Of Ministers in Lok Sabha
Sir, on behalf of the All India Trinamool Congress and its leader, Mamata Banerjee Ji, I rise to speak on the NoConfidence Motion. I also speak on behalf of the INDIA alliance. I express confidence in the Supreme Court which restored Rahul Gandhi Ji’s membership. Also, I support the No-Confidence Motion against this Government. I have to say that I have nothing personal against Mr. Modi. But as Brutus said in Julius Caesar, Not that I love Modi less, but I love India more. If anybody loves India, they will oppose Modi because his Government has been a Government of fake promises and disastrous policy decisions. Still, I do not want to make it personal. I do not want to raise the question of Modi ji’s educational qualification over which there is a cloud. Nor do I want to speak on Gujarat riots or the BBC documentary on Modi ji, on Gujarat riots. Before going to my main point on Manipur, I want to mention that this Government is destroying federalism in the country. Its purpose is to weaken all State Governments. West Bengal is a victim because Amit Shah went to West Bengal and said, “Agli baar 200 paar”. BJP could not even get 80 seats. So, they had stopped all money for MGNREGA which amounts to Rs.7,300 crore and for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana which amounts to Rs.8,400 crore. Our Party has given a call. If the money is not released soon, then on 2nd October, we shall bring lakhs of people to Delhi to demand our share, our dues in respect of MGNREGA. I do not want to reply to Shri Nishikant Dubey. He is a man desperate to get into the Ministry somehow or the other. So, he has to flatter the Government. He quoted all wrong history which I do not want to go into. But I want to remind him that he belongs to an organisation which did not participate in the August, 1942 movement. He belongs to an organisation which was banned after Gandhi ji’s murder. I do not want to have any truck with such organisation and people representing it. Before going further, I want to mention that there are some Ministers, a sprinkling of Ministers, here. The Ministers must control themselves. Earlier, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur went to a meeting in Delhi and said, “Goli maro….”. Now, Shrimati Meenakashi Lekhi, Minister from Delhi is saying, ‘Do not speak against us. We shall send ED to your home.’ I want to say that I come from the land of Tagore who said: “Ami bhoy korbo na bhai, korbo na Du bela morar agey morbo na bhai morbo na” It means, “I shall not fear and I shall not die twice before dying actually.” This Government is a Government of the heartless. They are sending delegations to West Bengal on any plea, but not one delegation has gone to Manipur where our brothers and sisters are dying. I will remind you of what Mark Antony said in Julius Caesar. I will paraphrase it and say, “You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things! O You hard hearts, cruel men of BJP.” You have no compassion. That is why, you have not gone to Manipur as all the Opposition parties have gone. Let me say a few words about Manipur. My young friend Shri Gaurav Gogoi has very ably summed up the situation in Manipur. Manipur ethnic clashes between Meiteis and Kukis started on 3rd May, 2023 and are still continuing. On 5th August, five people – three Meiteis and two Kukis – were killed in Manipur in escalation of hostilities. So far, over 150 people have been killed. At least 100 women were raped. Over 70,000 people have been displaced, and 350 relief camps have been set up. The delegation from INDIA went there and met people in relief camps in Imphal and Churachandpur. Nishikant did not mention a single word about Manipur. This Government wants to forget it. Hon. Chairperson, Sir, the actual count may be higher. Now, these incidents in Manipur remind one of the riots in Rwanda between Hutus and Tutsis some years ago. The worst incident in Manipur came to light on 19th July when a video went viral showing two Kuki women being stripped, paraded naked on the streets, and sexually assaulted apparently by Meitei men. Sir, are we living in a civilised country when this happens to our sisters? This is unimaginable. No action was taken by the police for more than two months until the video emerged. This was due to the internet shutdown in Manipur which is still continuing, as has been mentioned by Gaurav. The Prime Minister opened his mouth after eighty days since the start of violence saying that his heart is full of pain and anger. But he has not visited Manipur till date. Now, the hon Supreme Court has belatedly set up a three-Judge Committee consisting of women Judges. This is good because when the Government fails, the highest court of the land has to take up the matter. Hon. Chairperson, Sir, till today, mobs of Meiteis are attacking Kuki villagers who are retaliating with SLRs, AK-47, etc. Much of the arms are coming from abroad across a porous border, and is funded by mainly poppy money/opium money. Police armouries are looted. The Government led by BJP Chief Minister, Shri N. Biren Singh, who is a Meitei, has failed to maintain law and order. I demand that he should be dismissed immediately and President’s Rule should be imposed in the State. Hon. Chairperson, Sir, I would like to tell you one interesting thing. You are a doctor from Ahmedabad and you will realise this thing. What was the Prime Minister doing from May to July this year when Manipur was burning? He visited seven countries. He visited USA from 22nd to 23rd June. He visited Hiroshima, Japan on 20th May and Australia on 24th May. He visited France from 13 to 14th July and UAE on 15th July. He visited Egypt to see Pyramids from 24th to 25th June, and visited Papua New Guinea on 21st May, 2023. He was very proud that Mr. Joe Biden and Ms. Jill Biden gave a private dinner at the White House in his honour. हम कहतेहैंलक सचहब लोगों नेहमचरी पीठ ठोक दी, उन्होंनेप्रचइवेट लडनर लदयच, लजससेवेबहुत खशु हो गए, लेलकन वहचिंपर हमचरी बहनों की इज्जत छीनी जच रही है। This is our Prime Minister. Hon. Chairperson, Sir, is our Prime Minister a roving ambassador or a travelling salesman? It is because in the midst of all these things, he went to Sikar in Rajasthan to campaign. Now, the Prime Minister has to reply as to why he is visiting foreign countries when Manipur was burning. Hon. Chairperson, Sir, let me come to some other points. The major failure of the Government is to check price rise. Price of tomato is at Rs. 250 per kg. He has failed to provide jobs also. It is destroying social harmony. We have seen communal riots in Nuh and Gurugram in Haryana, and they are still continuing. They are polarising the communities and destroying federalism. In Nuh, allegations have been made that only the houses of Muslims are being demolished by bulldozers. The Government is destroying federalism by sending … (Not recorded) to States like, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Delhi to disturb the State Governments. Sir, the Government has been weakening institutions – Parliament to Election Commission. Modi ji never comes to attend Parliament. He has not replied to a single question in Parliament. I have seen many other Parliamentarians. I have never seen a man like him where the Prime Minister does not reply to a single question. He does not believe in Parliamentary democracy and may be … मैंनेकोई खराब बात नहीं बोली है।… सर, आप बहुत बड़ेडॉक्टर हैं। आप बीजेपी केहैं, लेवकन बड़ेडॉक्टर हैं। इसवलए मैंआपकी इज्जत करता ह ं। Sir, the Central agencies – ED and CBI are used to target opponents and bring down Opposition State Governments as it happened in Maharashtra. BJP has a big washing machine. … (Interruptions) BJP has a big washing machine. When Ajit Pawar was in NCP, he was very bad. He has Rs. 70,000 crore irrigation-scam. Now, he has entered BJPʼs washing machine. Now, he has become a good man. Amit Shah goes and praises him. Sir, I talk about demonetisation – it was one mad decision by the Prime Minister. It created chaos; 150 people died standing in queues for changing notes. Many MSMEs weretotally wiped out. Sir, on Farm Bills, the Government tried to press the Farm Bills down the throat of the farmers. They resisted boldly and ultimately, the Government had to withdraw the Farm Bills but the farmers are still committing suicide. They are still committing suicide and the promise to double farmersʼ income by 2022 is not fulfilled. PSUs are being disinvested. Banks have been writing off Rs. 14 lakh crore NPAs in the last nine years. PSUs are being privatised includingprofitable ones like the LIC. Sir, I am coming to the end of my tether. Special advantages have been given to some industrial houses like Tatas, Ambanis and Adanis. Adani got most of the airports including Mumbai Airport by arm twisting and then given cement companies and then ports. Ambanis persuaded the Government to stop import of laptops since they are bringing out laptops themselves. Tatas are buying Air India and are now buying out Vistara. The Government has not given out a statement on the Hindenburg Research Report on the Adani share scam till today. The Prime Minister averts all discussions on Adani in the House. Sir, today, LPG cylinder, as you may know, costs Rs. 1200. The Government earns above Rs. 27 lakh crore by increasing duties on petroleum products. Petrol now costs Rs. 106 and diesel Rs. 92 per litre in my city. Sir, the Prime Minister does not fulfil his promise. He promised Rs.15 lakh for every household. He did not fulfil his promise. He promised two crore jobs per year. He did not fulfil it and his lack of compassion was displayed when during the pandemic a sudden lockdown was announced and lakhs of migrant workers were seen walking to their homes and some dying on the roadside. Hundreds of dead bodies were found on the banks of the river Ganga. Sir, today, unemployment is the biggest issue. Multinational corporations are sacking a large number of technical people both in India and abroad. During pandemic, one crore jobs were lost. Sir, they speak big of nationalism. But China is still camping on Indian territory in Galwan, Ladakh and Doklam, Sikkim. The Government cannot do anything. Now the Government wants to re-write history. It is planning to exclude the Mughal period from history books. Will foreign dignitaries not be taken to see the Lal Quila and Taj Mahal which were built by Mughals? They are promoting people who are not actually good freedom fighters like Shri V.D. Savarkar, on whom there may be a controversy, who pleaded mercy from British to get out of cellular jail in Andaman in 1922. Bengali freedom fighters spent their full period in the Andaman but he got outSir, the worst railway accident again showed the lack of compassion of the Prime Minister. In the rail accident in Balasore, 288 people died and thousand were injured. The Prime Minister did not care to visit Balasore nor the patients at the hospital. Our Chief Minister went there but the Prime Minister did not care to go there. He does not care. ..… Sir, the Government is in a hurry in introducing Vande Bharat trains and new stations. Safety is ignored. Today, truth does not come out. News channels are muzzled. Most of them are bought over by big business.… Sir, the Supreme Court has already expressed no confidence in the Government by setting up the three judge Committee. Sir, the Prime Minister will not win the 2024 elections. He is scared that INDIA has been informed. He is now depending on inauguration of Ram Mandir. Lastly, let me read a quotation from John Donne as quoted in Ernest Hemingway. He said: “Each man’s death diminishes me, For I am involved in mankind. Therefore, ask me not For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee.” It is tolling for the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Thank you.
