The TMC on Monday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for calling the Opposition’s protest in Parliament a “drama”.
TMC MP and party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said demanding accountability on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and other governance issues cannot be dismissed as theatrics.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament ahead of the Winter session, Modi said Parliament is not a place for drama, it is a place for delivery, accusing the Opposition parties of turning the House into a “warm-up arena” for elections or as an outlet to vent out frustration after defeat. He added that the session must not become a stage for political theatrics but a platform for constructive and result-driven debate, and offered to give the opposition tips to bring positivity in politics.
Soon after, Abhishek hit back at the PM, saying, “What the Opposition is asking is a debate on SIR. Is it a drama? If raising people’s voices is drama, then people will give them a reply in the next election.”
“Forty people, including BLOs, have died. They have blamed ECI. Where is accountability from the government? People stood in queues 10 years back during demonetisation. The black money flow has increased. Where is the accountability? Blasts are happening, and terrorists are entering our country. Where is the accountability?” asked the MP from Diamond Harbour.
“The Opposition is working within the legal framework to ask questions. Just because they (BJP) have won a few states doesn’t mean that they are not answerable to people. The same people will remove you from power. We are raising questions on Pahalgam, 40 people died due to SIR, and the BJP thinks this is drama?” he said.
Later at the inauguration of the second phase of Sebaashray healthcare camps in his constituency, Abhishek said, “We are not against SIR, but we are against the method and way it is being executed. The Election Commission didn’t train BLOs. They didn’t remove the glitch, voter roll is not updated, and when we want a discussion, the PM says this is drama!”
“The Chief Election Commissioner (Gyanesh Kumar) did not answer even one of the five questions that we asked,” he said.
Questioning the EC’s decision not to hold SIR in the northeastern states, he alleged that the poll panel’s “intentions” behind conducting the exercise were contrary to its claims.
“If the idea is to identify illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators in this country and deport them, then why is SIR only being conducted in Bengal and not in Tripura, Mizoram, and Meghalaya, which also share borders with Bangladesh?” he asked.
“The BJP claims that the SIR will identify one crore Rohingyas living in Bengal. But it doesn’t share borders with Myanmar. The states which do – Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Manipur – are not having SIR. Had the EC been serious about identifying foreigners, it would have started the SIR exercise from these states as they provide the entry points to outsiders. And when we seek discussion on these matters, the PM says the opposition is doing drama!” Banerjee said.