Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress will not be present in parliament when the Budget will be presented.
New Delhi:
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress will not be present in parliament when the Union Budget is presented on Wednesday, February 1. Party lawmaker Derek O Brien, writing exclusively for ndtv.com, said Saraswati Puja, an important Bengali festival, is on the same day and so his colleagues and he will be unable to attend parliament. Mr O Brien, writing exclusively for ndtv.com, also said that the Trinamool would skip a meeting of all parties called by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan this evening.
In an official statement the Trinamool Congress said its MPs "will not be present in parliament on the first two days of the Budget Session in protest against demonetisation, which was implemented without taking parliament into confidence, and restrictions on withdrawal limits from bank accounts which are still in force."
The party said it would bring up during the session, the arrest of two party MPs by the CBI in a chitfund scam. Mamata Banerjee's party has called it a "clear case of political vendetta by the ruling party at the centre by misusing CBI and abusing its power," for its aggressive campaign against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's notes ban.
The Budget session of parliament begins tomorrow. Opposition parties have accused the government of advancing the presentation of the Budget by several weeks because it wants to be able to announce sops just ahead of crucial assembly elections in five states. Punjab and Goa will vote on February 4, three days after the Budget, and the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections will be held on February 11.
"The BJP government has done this, we suspect, to influence voters in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur and Uttar Pradesh...Our requests and objections relating to the date of the budget being unfair and undemocratic were not heeded by a government that has no time for niceties. Neither was our urge to be culturally sensitive on the occasion of Saraswati Puja, which also falls on February 1, considered," Derek O Brien wrote.
Saraswati Puja, he said, "is more than just a religious event in Bengal. It is a tribute to learning and education, a cause that is so dear to this state and its people...To have the Budget presentation coincide with Saraswati Puja is to disregard Bengal."
The Trinamool, Mr O Brien said would also skip the Speaker's all party meeting this evening and the first day of the Budget session tomorrow as party chief Mamata Banerjee has called a meeting to "do an internal stock-taking of the national economic and political situation."
The Trinamool Congress, which has 34 lawmakers in the Lok Sabha or lower house of parliament and 11 in the upper house Rajya Sabha, has alleged that it is being persecuted by the central government for its aggressive campaign against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetistion drive, after two of its MPs, Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Tapas Pal, were arrested by the CBI in connection with a chitfund scam.
Ms Banerjee's party led protests both inside and outside parliament during the winter session in December against the ban on 500 and 1,000 rupee notes aimed at uprooting corruption and black money. The session was washed out amid daily disruptions by the Trinamool Congress and other opposition parties.
In an official statement the Trinamool Congress said its MPs "will not be present in parliament on the first two days of the Budget Session in protest against demonetisation, which was implemented without taking parliament into confidence, and restrictions on withdrawal limits from bank accounts which are still in force."
The party said it would bring up during the session, the arrest of two party MPs by the CBI in a chitfund scam. Mamata Banerjee's party has called it a "clear case of political vendetta by the ruling party at the centre by misusing CBI and abusing its power," for its aggressive campaign against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's notes ban.
The Budget session of parliament begins tomorrow. Opposition parties have accused the government of advancing the presentation of the Budget by several weeks because it wants to be able to announce sops just ahead of crucial assembly elections in five states. Punjab and Goa will vote on February 4, three days after the Budget, and the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections will be held on February 11.
"The BJP government has done this, we suspect, to influence voters in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur and Uttar Pradesh...Our requests and objections relating to the date of the budget being unfair and undemocratic were not heeded by a government that has no time for niceties. Neither was our urge to be culturally sensitive on the occasion of Saraswati Puja, which also falls on February 1, considered," Derek O Brien wrote.
Saraswati Puja, he said, "is more than just a religious event in Bengal. It is a tribute to learning and education, a cause that is so dear to this state and its people...To have the Budget presentation coincide with Saraswati Puja is to disregard Bengal."
The Trinamool, Mr O Brien said would also skip the Speaker's all party meeting this evening and the first day of the Budget session tomorrow as party chief Mamata Banerjee has called a meeting to "do an internal stock-taking of the national economic and political situation."
The Trinamool Congress, which has 34 lawmakers in the Lok Sabha or lower house of parliament and 11 in the upper house Rajya Sabha, has alleged that it is being persecuted by the central government for its aggressive campaign against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetistion drive, after two of its MPs, Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Tapas Pal, were arrested by the CBI in connection with a chitfund scam.
Ms Banerjee's party led protests both inside and outside parliament during the winter session in December against the ban on 500 and 1,000 rupee notes aimed at uprooting corruption and black money. The session was washed out amid daily disruptions by the Trinamool Congress and other opposition parties.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
