There was an uproar in the parliament today as the TMC took on BJP on the recent SC/ST bill and the NRC issue.
This led to putting on hold several crucial addresses on the backburner- one by home minister Rajnath Singh and another by BJP chief Amit Shah. Prakash Javadekar hit out at the Trinamool Congress, accusing it of blocking the leaders. He even accused Congress and TMC of not letting the house run smoothly.
The protests during the BJP President’s speech started yesterday after his disparaging comments about’ former Prime Minister and Congress politician Rajiv Gandhi. While Shah spoke later at a press conference, his party blamed Trinamool Congress. “The Trinamool Congress pressed for the home minister’s statement, but did not let him speak for the past three days. They have sabotaged a very important discussion on farmers,” said Union minister Prakash Javadekar. The party called the TMC and the Congress “anti-farmer”.
Rajnath Singh also gave a statement regarding the passing of the SC/ST bill. <blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities ordinance should be brought soon: Congress's Mallikarjun Kharge in Lok Sabha. Union Minister Rajnath Singh responds, "The govt has already approved the bill yesterday. We want to pass it in this session of parliament." <a href=”https://t.co/HNky949C94″>pic.twitter.com/HNky949C94</a></p>— ANI (@ANI) <a href=”https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1024910237889974272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>August 2, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Today Amit Shah ji and Rajnath ji were not allowed to speak in Rajya Sabha, this was a planned strategy by the opposition. Congress and TMC don't want to let the house run: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar <a href=”https://t.co/MuTAfe1cVK”>pic.twitter.com/MuTAfe1cVK</a></p>— ANI (@ANI) <a href=”https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1024614987258462211?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>August 1, 2018</a></blockquote>
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However, TMC lawmaker Derek O’Brien, who said parliament was not the BJP party office and everyone had the right to speak there. Parliament has witnessed repeated protests over the last three days – most of it centering the draft citizens’ list in Assam and the SC/ST bill. Rajya Sabha has been adjourned without any business being conducted. Not much could be done in Lok Sabha either. “This is parliament, not the BJP party office that only their chief will be allowed to speak… If Amit Shah wants to speak, he can speak in his fancy, very grand new office… In parliament, we want to hear the Home Minister,” he added.
Home Minister’s Rajnath Singh’s address on the subject has been repeatedly postponed since Monday. On Tuesday, BJP chief Amit Shah’s speech on Assam citizens’ list was cut short by vociferous opposition protests. A re-run took place today when he rose to speak on the farmers’ issue.
The Trinamool Congress, which has been spearheading the protests against the Assam citizens’ bill, which has left out 40 lakh people, delivered a withering response. Party lawmaker Derek O’Brien said the Trinamool would not “allow Parliament to function as a BJP back garden!”