Want Parliament to function, will raise intolerance issue: TMC

Ahead of the Winter Session next week, Trinamool Congress on Saturday said it does not favour disrupting of Parliament proceedings and will raise issues of intolerance, communal harmony and strengthening of federal structure in the House.

“The strategy of our party is yet to be decided. It will be decided after discussions with our party chief Mamata Banerjee. But yes, we want the Parliament to function properly. We don’t want any disruption of the house,” TMC Parliamentary Party leader in Lok Sabha Sudip Bandopadhyay told a 

media person.

“If Parliament functions smoothly, we will be able to raise the burning issues of the country such as price rise, intolerance, threat to secularism and others. We can make the government answerable for these issues,” he said.

Bandopadhyay’s comments come ahead of the all party meeting, expected to be convened by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan before the winter session on November 26.

The monsoon session of Parliament had been a complete washout over Vyapam scam and Lalitgate controversies and with the victory of the JD(U)-RJD-Congress alliance there are apprehensions that a bouyed opposition may maintain the offensive.

Reaching out to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu had urged them not to interpret the Bihar election result as a “mandate to disrupt Parliament”.

On being asked about the issues that will top TMC’s agenda in the coming Parliament session, Bandopadhyay said, “The issue of intolerance and threat to communal harmony will top our agenda.

“Never before has India gone through such an intolerant atmosphere. We want to raise this issue of intolerance in Parliament. We have always spoken in favour of strengthening communal harmony of our country. In the present situation the communal harmony too is under threat,” he said.

Bandopadhyay also lashed out at the Centre for interfering in the federal structure of the country.

“We have always spoken in favour of strengthening the federal structure and for more power to the states. But under the present regime at the centre, the Prime Minister is calling up chief secretaries of the state bypassing the chief ministers.

“Is this the way you protect the federal structure, which is the basis of our country? We all need to strengthen the federal structure,” he added.