BJP lost 63 seats and paid a heavy price for suppressing an MP: TMC’s Mahua Moitra attacks Modi government

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra on Monday attacked the BJP-led NDA government for suspending her in the last Lok Sabha session. She said the saffron government paid a very heavy price for suppressing her voice, which led to the loss of 63 BJP MPs in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.

During a discussion on the motion of thanks for the President’s address to a joint session of Parliament, Moitra, who represents Krishnanagar constituency in West Bengal, said the BJP will not be able to treat the opposition the way it did during the last session.

“The last time I appeared, I was not allowed to speak. The ruling party has paid a very heavy price for suppressing the voice of an MP,” PTI quoted the TMC MP as saying. Moitra was referring to her suspension in the last session.

“In their attempt to silence me, the public silenced them, which resulted in them losing 63 MPs… I am fed up of someone turning me down, so they lost 63 MPs,” Moitra began in a defiant tone.

Moitra condemned the installation of Sengol in Parliament and described him as a symbol of monarchy that has no place in a democracy.

Moitra also stressed that the government was unstable due to the BJP’s minority status and could collapse any day due to its dependence on allies.

“The BJP’s ‘Raj Tantra’ has been weakened by the ‘Lok Tantra’ of this country. This is not a stable government. It needs many allies who have made U-turns in their history. This time we are 234 warriors who have walked over fire. They will not be able to treat us like they did last time,” she said.

Omission of critical topics

Referring to the President’s speech, Moitra criticised the Modi government for omitting important issues.

“The President’s address covers six topics. The budget for the Northeast has been quadrupled, but the word ‘Manipur’ does not appear anywhere in the speech.

“The Prime Minister has not once mentioned ‘Muslim’, ‘madrassa’, ‘mutton’, ‘machhli’ and ‘mujra’ during the election campaign, but he has not mentioned ‘Manipur’. We don’t need you to look East or act East. We need you to work East and most importantly, embrace the East,” she said.

Women’s advancement

Moitra contradicted the government’s claims on women empowerment and said, “This is a complete lie. You have delayed the creation of parliamentary seats because you are afraid of ‘naari shakti’.”

She said that this time there were only 74 women MPs and the BJP had only 30 out of 240 MPs.

In contrast, the TMC had 37% women MPs last time and 38% this time.

“While we have empowered three lakh ‘lakhpati didis’, the BJP seems to be focusing on creating ‘Arabpati dadas’,” Moitra said.

About Kashmir

The TMC MP questioned the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

“If repeal was such a good idea, then why did the BJP not field candidates in Baramulla, Srinagar and Anantnag-Rajouri? You demoted Ladakh and five years later you are still waiting to be included in the Sixth Schedule. As a result, the Ladakhis have relegated you to third place,” she said.

Infrastructure projects

Moitra criticised the government’s infrastructure projects and said: “They are sanctioning ₹1.08 billion for Vande Bharat bullet train project. Last year three trains collided in Balasore due to lack of Kavach; last week there was no Kavach in the train accident. At the current funding rate, it will take 50 years to equip all trains with Kavach.

“Kavach” is a Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) that provides automatic train protection and collision avoidance functions for trains.

“Our aviation has become a centre of domestic dangers. Canopies are falling down at newly constructed airports and the Pragati Maidan tunnel is flooded. This is what happens when infrastructure is poorly planned and hastily used by the supreme leader for photo opportunities,” she said.