TMC dismisses Union Mins' press meet on Parliament ruckus; poses eight questions to Centre

Fuming at the eight-minister press conference over the Parliament ruckus, TMC MP Derek O'Brien on Thursday, called it 'no facts, all faff'. Posing eight questions on bulldozing of Bills in Parliament, PM Modi's absence and no debate on Pegasus, O'Brien dared the Centre to answer atleast a single question. Parliament adjourned sine die prematurely amid continued Opposition ruckus over Pegasus, Farm Bills etc.  

TMC poses 8 questions

"Eight ministers did a press conference - only faff. We (Opposition) ask you eight questions, try to answer one of them atleast. We are representatives of the people - tell us facts, not faff," fumed O'Brien.

• Why was the Prime Minister missing during the OBC debate in parliament?
• Why were 38 Bills passed in both houses with an average discussion time of 10 mins per bill?
• Why has only 1 of 10 bills been sen for Parliamentary scrutiny from Lok Sabha?
• Why are 4 of every 10 bills passed ordinances? 
• Why has the Prime Minister never answered a single question in the Rajya Sabha in past 5 years?
• Why has the govt not elected a Deputy Speaker in two years?
• Why you did not allow the Opposition to discuss Pegasus, internal security and repeal of Farm Laws?
• Whose business is it to run parliament?

Centre hits at Opposition

On Thursday after the conclusion of the monsoon session of Parliament, Union Ministers Anurag Thakur, Pralhad Joshi and Piyush Goyal hit back at Opposition asserting that opposition leaders must apologise for stalling the parliament proceedings. Union Minister Anurag Thakur condemned the opposition's actions and stated that they hindered the proceedings of the house. Pralhad Patel condemned several opposition MPs for climbing on top of the tables claiming  that some opposition leaders 'were feeling proud of themselves'.

"The country is watching. They should apologise," said Joshi. Moreover, the Union Ministers have urged the Rajya Sabha to take strict action against the opposition for their actions. However, Joshi also maintained that the government is ready to listen to the opposition's constructive suggestions. "Action should be taken against the ones who manhandled the marshals," said Joshi. 

Parliament adjourned after massive ruckus in Rajya Sabha with Opposition parties accusing marshals of manhandling women parliamentarians in the Upper House. Objecting to the presence of security personnel during the passage of the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021, the opposition staged a walkout. According to Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, the number of marshals present in the Rajya Sabha exceeded the number of MPs and lamented that women are unsafe even in Parliament. This was countered by the Centre.