New Delhi: Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien attacked the statements made against the opposition after the eight central ministers of the Modi government held a press conference on Thursday. In a video posted on Twitter, he asked the Center 8 questions regarding the monsoon session of Parliament.
After the uproar in the Rajya Sabha, the tussle between the central government and the opposition intensified. Earlier today, several opposition leaders led by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi took out a protest march against the alleged attack by lawmakers, controversial agricultural laws, Pegasus report and others.
Read also | Ruckus in Parliament: Union ministers demand action against opposition MPs for ‘indecent’ conduct. 10 points
This was followed by a special press briefing by eight Union ministers to counter the opposition.
Soon after, TMC MP Derek O’Brien took to Twitter and wrote: “8 ministers just addressed a press conference. Them, we ask. Answer one of these 8 questions too. Try it. Then Talk to us about Parliament”.
“The united opposition has a strong case. You are full of puff,” he said.
In the video, Derek O’Brien’s questions ranged from the Pegasus snooping scandal to PM Narendra Modi’s participation in Parliament.
Here are 8 questions that the TMC MP asked:
- “Why was the Prime Minister missing during the OBC debate in Parliament? There were former Prime Ministers Deve Gowda ji and Manmohan Singh ji. Where was PM Modi?”
- “Why 38 bills were passed in both houses with an average discussion time of 10 minutes per bill?”
- “Why only one bill out of 10 from Lok Sabha has been sent for parliamentary scrutiny?”
- “Why about 4 out of every 10 Bills are Ordinances? Earlier it was one or two Bills.”
- “Why did the Prime Minister of India not answer a single question in the Rajya Sabha in the last five years? Manmohan Singh ji answered 22 questions.”
- Why hasn’t the government elected a deputy speaker in the Lok Sabha in two years?”
- “Why didn’t you allow the opposition to discuss Pegasus, internal security, repeal of agricultural laws. Why? The government should have its way, the opposition should have their say.”
- “Whose job is it to run the Parliament? Is it the responsibility of the government or the opposition? And to whom is the government accountable? The people.”
“We are representing the people. You don’t have the answer, you have Faf,” he said, ending his video.
Meanwhile, talking about the opposition, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that the leaders were “afraid that action would be taken against them in the wake of their attack on Parliament staff, so they are trying to threaten us”. “I would also urge Sharad Pawar to introspect before pointing fingers at us,” he said.
Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu reviewed the “unfortunate sequence of events in Parliament during the recent session” in a meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, the Vice President’s Secretariat said.
“He expressed deep concern about the disruptive behavior of some MPs. He strongly felt that such unruly behavior should not be tolerated and appropriate action should be taken,” the statement said.
.