“These were just charades to prevent the Bill being passed”
The contradicting positions taken by the Trinamool Congress on the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill in the two Houses of Parliament were merely a ploy of the UPA government to prevent the Bill being passed, Surya Kanta Mishra, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, alleged here on Tuesday.
“The controversy over the Lokpal and the Lokayukta, the way the Trinamool Congress voted in the Lok Sabha and then said just the opposite in the Rajya Sabha — these were just charades of the UPA government to prevent the Lokpal Bill from being passed,” Dr. Mishra told journalists.
Rubbishing the claims made by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at a press conference during the day that she was in favour of the Lokpal and in the State a Lokayukta, Dr. Mishra said that if she was really serious about the appointment of a Lokayukta she would have gone ahead and appointed one.
“The Trinamool Congress was the main reason for the Bill not being passed,” he said.
On the other remarks made by the Chief Minister at the press conference, Dr. Mishra said Ms. Banerjee could not evade responsibility for the crisis farmers in West Bengal were facing by placing the blame on the Centre.
“She was an important Minister in the Cabinet of both the UPA and NDA governments when decisions were taken that have led to the present agrarian crisis… not once did she protest against these decisions,” he added.
Ms. Banerjee said it was the Centre that decided the procurement price of paddy and jute and the decision to reduce subsidies on fertilizers was taken by the Centre in 2010 when the Left Front was still in power in West Bengal.
Dr. Mishra reminded Ms. Banerjee that her party was the second largest constituent of the UPA and she was a Cabinet Minister when the decision to decontrol the prices of fertilizers was taken. Similarly, Ms. Banerjee was a member of A.B. Vajpayee's Cabinet when forward trading was allowed in agriculture, he said.
“We have been noticing that she is trying to be more Leftist that the Left parties,” Mr. Mishra said speaking about the stand Ms. Banerjee took on the introduction of FDI in the retail sector. However, he pointed out that Ms. Banerjee sided with the Congress on important decisions such as opening up the insurance sector to foreign investment and voted with the Congress on a motion against price rise that the Left moved in Parliament.
Dr. Mishra, who is a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and was Minister in the previous Left Front government, also responded to Ms. Banerjee's allegations that she had found evidence of large-scale corruption during the Left regime.
I am not a great fan of Left, but on this point I agree. Not only Trinamool even Lalu's party joined hands with Congress in sabotaging Lokpal bill. I am also predicting that eventually when the bill gets passed it will be rejected the first time by President Patil (if she still remains President when the bill eventually passes). None of the current/past Congress leaders will support this bill, as most of them would be affected once this bill becomes law!!!
@ MSR NAYYAR : Dont think about children and grand children...World will go whether there is Lokpal or not but what we need to worry about is to stop this way of moving forward..and we need to stop it now for our sake only because we who are getting hampered rather than our children and grandchildren however this drama like the one played by TMC and congress was well expected as no political party leave aside political party do any individual wants power to be shared??Do we? Thats the reason behind negative mentality and thats y Lokpal was not passed..
I totally agree with Dr.Sudrania. If our parliament is a 'Temple' - then it is totally desecrated by these corrupt unruly MPs. Election without selection has resulted in this degradation. When knowledge is power - the society progresses. When money is power - the society retrogresses. We are seeing money-power results now. I am worried about a bloody revolution - much bigger scale than Libya & Egypt - the question is how soon or how later! Our children & grand children have to face this?
I call them political bulls at whatever you take them from smallest to the most virulent international level. An avrage person in India hardly understand them. They are controlled by these Macaulayiites. I watched the entire proceedings on 27 and 29 December 2011 till midnight. I was so flaberghasted that I felt sorry for this poor country and was ashamed on their behavior as parliamentarians. Is this the parliamentary culture? These MPs should not be given the rights for privilege motion, they don't deserve it. India doesn't need to copycat. This should be taught to these like we train the IAS/IPS etc officers to behave and on etiquettes. Parliament cannot be made a fighting ground. It is a shame that no disciplinary proceedings have been started against that Mr Tear MP of Lalu Yadav. He should be made to pay for such ugly mannerism. They should present themselves as rple models. Shame and shame and shame.
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