Reacting sharply to the single-day suspension of arguably the largest chunk of Opposition MPs in recent memory, Trinamul Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee said, “I feel fortunate that I am not an MP in the current times”.
Speaking at a meeting of party leaders and MPs at Banga Bhavan in Delhi, a day ahead of the scheduled INDIA bloc meeting and 48 hours ahead of her scheduled appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an exasperated Banerjee, who has herself remained an MP for seven terms, said: “What’s happening is totally unwarranted. It seems that the whole Parliament remains suspended. This is nothing short of an autocracy.”
Speaking to a select group of journalists later, the Bengal chief minister called the suspension exercise a “mockery of democracy”.
A total 78 Opposition MPs were suspended on Monday, 33 from the Lok Sabha and 45 from Rajya Sabha, for creating commotion on the floor while demanding an official statement from home minister Amit Shah on the breach of security leading to the intrusion in Parliament last week. The suspended MPs in the lower House of the Parliament included nine Trinamul Congress parliamentarians and the leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
With 14 Opposition MPs already suspended last week on similar grounds, the total number of Opposition MPs who remain suspended from the remaining days of the Parliament’s winter session, culminating on December 22, currently stands at 92.
Parties facing maximum brunt of the punishments meted out by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar in their respective Houses on Monday were the Congress with 25 suspended MPs s followed by the Trinamul Congress with 16 suspended MPs and the DMK with 14 MPs.
“They can take a call for certain members if they have violated parliamentary decorum. But how can they suspend Opposition MPs en masse? The House is supreme. They enjoy an overwhelming majority in the House. They are passing Bills by means of voice vote. Then what are they so afraid of? If they suspend all Opposition members, how will the Opposition raise its voice?,” Banerjee said, slamming the BJP.
“Who will raise the voices of the people? The people’s voice has been totally silenced and choked. Let them suspend the House first. They have no moral ground left to run this House. Better suspend or expel the Opposition fully, how can they run the House like this?,” she stated in justification of her “mockery of democracy” contention.
Relentless in her attack on the BJP, the Bengal chief minister continued: “They are bulldozing the federal structure and snatching away everything from the poor people. The poor are hungry and they are angry with the present government. When we are raising these issues then we are either suspended or expelled from Parliament or we are raided by central agencies. Show me how many BJP people have been raided despite them being thieves and dacoits.”
“They are supposed to pass important Bills in this session including the three criminal law Bills where we have urged the government to defer their passing temporarily and allow the new government to take oath first. The elections are only a couple of months away. What is the tearing hurry? The new government may choose to review them which is permitted in a democracy,” she added.
For someone who has consistently advocated for a one-on-one fight against the BJP in the upcoming general elections and maintained that achieving that formula in 70 per cent seats across the country would give the Opposition a fighting chance in the 2024 polls, Banerjee revealed that she was open to talks with the Congress in Bengal. “Someone should bell that cat. In Bengal they have only two seats, but I am open to (seat sharing) talks (with the Congress.”
Asked whether she would accept Congress’s alliance with the Left in the state, Banerjee said: “That’s their choice, I cannot make any comment about (the political prerogatives of) a political party.”
Speaking on the possibility of seat sharing talks at the scheduled meeting of the Opposition INDIA bloc on Tuesday, the Trinamul chief said: “I think all will be together. There is an opportunity to discuss this (seat sharing) matter. Tomorrow is a great opportunity to discuss that in detail.
“There could be some voices of dissent within the Opposition camp on a one-on-one seat sharing formula. But if the majority of parties agree to it, the rest would automatically fall in line.”
She, however, refused to clarify further and stated: “Without discussing it within the Opposition group, I cannot assert my opinions in public... It’s not easy to finalise seat sharing at a single meeting tomorrow. But if the issue is agreed in principle, then things would run smoothly. That’s my opinion."
Asked if the Congress lost valuable time in dilly-dallying the seat sharing talks, Banerjee, while claiming there was still time, said: “Better late than never”.
To a question on whether she would want Rahul Gandhi opting out of the PM’s race, the TMC chief said: “Why should you say like this? We will decide this matter jointly after the elections.” Refusing to comment on whether she felt that the Congress should have treated its allies at the recently-concluded state polls, Banerjee stated her willingness to join Opposition party campaigns: “I am ready for joint campaigns. If any Opposition party wants me to be part of their campaign, I am ready.”
Reiterating her party’s full support for expelled MP Mahua Moitra, Banerjee said: “It’s a bad case based on personal interests. She was not even allowed to defend herself. Yet nothing has been done to the MP who gave passes to the intruders despite the Opposition demanding he be expelled. So if you are in the BJP, you are very good, you are like a bar of washing soap, stainless. Else, you have to be put in a washing machine and be converted.”
Answering a question on whether she agreed to a "Bengal-link" to the Parliament intrusion, the leader said: “Nothing is related to Bengal. That’s wrong. It could be that someone may have stayed in various parts of the country, including Calcutta. But the Parliament security breach that was pre-planned was (on account of) a total failure of the IB, vigilance and there were security lapses in the New Parliament building.”