Derek O'Brien Pitches 8 Questions To Modi Govt On Monsoon Session, Says 'You Don't Have Answers, You Have Faff'

The tussle between the union government and opposition intensified further after the ruckus witnessed in Rajya Sabha wherein the latter alleges that their MPs were assaulted.

File Photo: Getty Images

New Delhi: After eight Union Ministers from the Modi government held a press conference on Thursday, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien launched an attack over the statements made against the opposition. In a video posted on Twitter, he posed 8 questions to the Centre over the Parliament's Monsoon Session.

The tussle between the union government and opposition intensified further after the ruckus witnessed in Rajya Sabha. Earlier today, several opposition leaders led by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi carried out a protest march against alleged assault of MPs, contentious agrarian laws, Pegasus reports and more. 

Eight Union Ministers then held a special press conference to counter the opposition.

Soon after, TMC MP Derek O'Brien took to Twitter and wrote: "8 Ministers just addressed a press conference. To them, we ask. Answer even one of these 8 questions. Try. Then talk to us about Parliament".

"The United Opposition have a strong case. You are full of faff," he added.

In the video, Derek O'Brien's questions ranged from the Pegasus snooping scandal to PM Narendra Modi's participation in parliament.

Here are the 8 questions that the TMC MP asked:

• "Why was the Prime Minister missing during the OBC debate in parliament? The former Prime Ministers Deve Gowda ji and Manmohan Singh ji were there. Where was Prime Minister Modi?"
  
  
• "Why were 38 bills passed in both houses with an average discussion time of 10 minutes per bill?"
  
  
• "Why has only one out of 10 bills been sent from the Lok Sabha for parliamentary scrutiny?"
• "Why are almost 4 bills out of every 10 bills are ordinances? Earlier it was one or two."
  
  
• "Why has the Prime Minister of India not answered a single question in the Rajya Sabha in the last five years? Manmohan Singh ji answered 22 questions."
  
  
• Why in two years, the government hasn't elected a Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha?"
  
  
• "Why did you not allow the opposition a discussion on Pegasus, internal security, repeal of farm laws. Why? Government must have its way, the opposition must have its say."
  
  
• "Whose business is it to run parliament? Is it the government's responsibility or the opposition's responsibility? And who is the government accountable to? The people." 

"We are representing the people. You don't have answers, you have faff," he said concluding his video.

Meanwhile, talking about the opposition, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that the leaders were "scared that action will be taken against them in the wake of their attack on Parliament staff, that's why they are trying to threaten us". "I would also urge Sharad Pawar to introspect before pointing a finger at us," he added. 

M Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President and Chairman Rajya Sabha in a meeting with Speaker Lok Sabha Om Birla, reviewed the "unfortunate sequence of events in the Parliament, during the recent session," Vice President Secretariat stated.

"They expressed deep concern about the disruptive behaviour of some parliamentarians. They strongly felt that such unruly behaviour should not be tolerated and appropriate action should be taken," the statement added.