Democracy in danger in India’s neighbourhood: Sobhandeb
Times of India | 28 November 2024
12 Kolkata: The strength of our country was its strong democratic foundation, from which the neighbouring countries often remain deprived, state parliamentary affairs minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay said in Bengal assembly on Wednesday, referring to unrest in nations including Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Speaking on the resolution commemorating Constitution Day, Chattopadhayay said democracy had been in danger in countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
"Sometimes there is a military coup, sometimes there is dictatorship, and again democracy returns. We have seen that in recent times, democracy could not be saved in Bangladesh. But in India, we have been enjoying democratic freedom for the last 75 years," he said.
Speaker Biman Banerjee said that the freedom of MLAs in the opposition to criticise him in the assembly showed that the democratic right of freedom of speech existed in the state. "This House shows that members have full-fledged liberty as far as freedom of speech is concerned," he said.
Speaker Banerjee had moved the resolution to mark the completion of 75 years of the adoption of the Constitution on Tuesday.
The resolution, however, included sharp criticism of central govt, alleging that it was dismantling the federal framework and using central agencies to instil a "culture of threat" across India.
On Tuesday, state leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari criticised the speaker, stating that the resolution that was moved appeared like Trinamool's party leaflet and not something that could be moved by the speaker.
A heated exchange between Trinamool and BJP legislators continued in the assembly for a second day. BJP's Agnimitra Paul said that even though the CM was a woman, women continued to be humiliated. Responding to Paul, state urban development minister Firhad Hakim said with the CM's initiative, Bengal was the safest state for women.
The opposition's chief whip, Shankar Ghosh, accused govt of failing to uphold democratic principles. Paul said state govt had misused the Constitution and violated fundamental rights of the people and opposition parties.
After the discussion, BJP staged a walkout from the assembly. The resolution was passed in the assembly through voice vote.