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Journalism of Courage
Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi led the Opposition’s protest in the House on Monday. He is among the 33 Opposition MPs suspended from the Lower House today. In an interview, he asks why Union Home Minister Amit Shah cannot address Parliament over last week’s security lapse and talks about the Opposition’s next steps.
It displays the cowardice of the BJP, which does not have the courage to own up to its massive failure in the intelligence and national affairs that took place in Parliament last week. The entire nation is watching the Union Home Minister (Amit Shah) go on a private news channel, explain his position, and choose to avoid the scrutiny of Parliament. He is trying to protect his parliamentary record by avoiding mentioning the serious mistakes that have taken place. For example, the position of the joint secretary of security has been lying vacant for two months. So are many other key positions in the security, all of which led to the breach inside Parliament. This blemish on the Union Home Minister’s record cannot be washed away by his silence or by suspending close to 100 MPs from both Houses. This will remain his tenure’s legacy. We will continue to raise our voices inside and outside Parliament because we feel a party that occupies a brute majority and is not accountable to the people of India is dangerous for our nation and our national security.
The proceedings right now, it seems, are directly controlled by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The Home Minister is the one who is taking most of the decisions. We have always maintained that the government need not take brutal extreme measures. Like any other government, the Home Minister should make a statement in the House and we can play the role of a constructive Opposition.
Unfortunately, the Home Minister is allowing the Speaker to be blamed for what is an obvious failure of the minister. It is his agencies’ responsibility to track any conspiracy that threatens the security of our capital and the nation’s most respected institutions. It is his agencies’ responsibility to prevent such an attack from occurring in the first place. By allowing the Speaker to be blamed, he is escaping his responsibility for what happened on December 13.
Apparently, this modern Parliament House has the most advanced counter-terrorism equipment and processes where even the biometrics and face recognition of the MPs have been recorded. In this modern Parliament House where the Home Minister also has access to the most advanced snooping and surveillance technology, he cannot cite the past to protect himself.
What is happening is far more dangerous than the Bills being passed without debate. What is actually happening is a brick-by-brick demolition of the idea of Indian parliamentary democracy. It is bulldozing the norms and ethics that have been followed within Parliament for years. This demolition of Parliament is what we as an Opposition are committed to stopping. We remain committed for the sake of the Indian people to have a government that is accountable.
We will definitely continue to protest inside and outside. Members who are not suspended so far have been asked to be present to raise their voices inside the House. The Opposition parties in the INDIA alliance will meet to discuss our next step outside Parliament. We are neither fazed nor intimidated by this suspension and we are not going to back out.
