Kolkata: Trinamool MP Derek O' Brien, continuing his "papri chaat" jibes at the Centre, once again accused the Modi government of "bulldozing" bills through a stop-and-go monsoon session of Parliament. He went ahead to extend a challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.
"No bills passed in the first week of monsoon session... Then Modi-Shah bulldozed 22 bills in 8 days at an average time of UNDER 10 MINUTES per Bill... Modi Ji, challenge these new numbers as I enjoy another plate of PAPRI CHAAT," tweeted the Rajya Sabha member.
With his tweet, he included two images: one listing bills passed in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha between July 26 and July 30, and another listing bills passed between August 2 and August 4.
According to Derek O'Brien, 22 bills were passed in an average of 10 minutes on each occasion.
The Inland Vessels Bill took the longest to pass, taking 28 minutes in the Rajya Sabha, while the Coconut Development Board Bill took the shortest, taking 60 seconds in the Rajya Sabha and five minutes in the Lok Sabha.
The TMC MP began writing the "papri chaat" tweets on Monday when he posted a list of bills passed during the monsoon session's second week. "Passing legislation or making papri chaat?" he inquired, sarcastically, in an accompanying message.
On Wednesday, Union Minister MA Naqvi reacted to the tweet, saying it "maligned Parliament's dignity" and that Derek O'Brien may “have fish curry, if he's allergic to papri chaat".
During a meeting of BJP MPs, Prime Minister Modi also stepped in to give a brief comment on the situation, pointing to harsh remarks made by the senior MP about the bill passage.
The monsoon session of Parliament, which began on July 19, has seen little action due to the ongoing standoff between the government and the opposition, with political divisions - already formed on Covid and agrarian laws- flaring up last month followed by the big Pegasus controversy.