'Worse Than Emergency': TMC's Derek O'Brien Accuses Centre Of Censorship In Parliament

TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien said that the government was enforcing censorship in Parliament, which was worse than the Emergency.

Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien on Thursday accused the government of censoring opposition protests during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech on the floor of the House. The Prime Minister was speaking in reply to a debate on a motion thanking the President for her address to a joint sitting of Parliament. He spoke for about 90 minutes, highlighting the achievements of his government and berating the Opposition.

"Censorship in Parliament. When PM Narendra Modi spoke, no MP from the Opposition was shown exercising their democratic right in Rajya Sabha... Worse than the Emergency of five decades ago," O'Brien said.

The Prime Minister's speech was disrupted by Opposition members, who were sloganeering and demanding a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into the Adani issue. The situation in the Rajya Sabha was quite chaotic as the Chairman, Jagdeep Dhankhar, tried to bring order and start the general discussions on the Union Budget for 2023-24.

O'Brien later stated that there is an urgent need for an inquiry into the world's largest scam and that the questions raised by the opposition will not go away, no matter how much the government tries to avoid answering them. He added that the government can only survive a Parliament session by evading the crucial questions, but they will not disappear.

"There is a need for immediate inquiry into the world's biggest scan. We want to get to the bottom of this. You can survive a Parliament session by avoiding answering key questions...but they (questions) won't go away," O'Brien was quoted as saying PTI.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, too, raised the Adani-Hindenburg issue on Thursday. She voiced her concerns over the safety of people's deposits in banks, post offices, and the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) as they were exposed to the Adani group's investment. She warned that the existence of these institutions could be in jeopardy in the future.

The Opposition has demanded a joint parliamentary committee probe on the allegations against the Adani Group.

The controversy around the Adani Group started when a report by a US-based Hindenburg Research surfaced on January 24, claiming that the conglomerate had weak business fundamentals and was involved in stock manipulation and accounting fraud.

(With PTI inputs.)