Tag: Swapan Dasgupta

  • Union minister V Muraleedharan, opposition face-off at seminar on democracy

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Union minister V Muraleedharan on Friday made a slew of suggestions to opposition parties, including on internal democracy and promoting talent, at a seminar and left soon citing “pressing engagements”, sparking protests from other participants.

    The Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs was speaking at a seminar ‘Challenges Before Democracy’ to celebrate the 86th birth anniversary of late M P Veerendra Kumar, a socialist leader and Chairman of the Mathrubhumi Media Group.

    The other speakers at the seminar were senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan, Congress spokesman Pawan Khera, RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha, CPI(M) leader John Brittas, BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta and activist Yogendra Yadav.

    “In the present context, the opposition feels that any achievement of India will go into the account of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hence it chooses not to applaud it. Is it good for democracy,” Muraleedharan asked.

    In his 30-minute speech, mostly in Malayalam, Muraleedharan said in a democracy everyone has the right to criticise, but in his home state Kerala, a person could be put in jail for criticising the chief minister.

    In an apparent jibe at the Congress, he said people protest on the roads across the country saying ‘democracy is in peril’ when central government agencies summon a person for questioning following the due process of the law.

    As Muraleedharan began to leave, Khera and Yadav asked him to at least hear the opposition response to the points he had raised in his speech.

    “You call this democracy when the government is not ready to listen to what we have to say? This is not acceptable,” Khera said.

    In his keynote speech, Bhushan said the role of money power in democracy had increased manifold with the introduction of electoral bonds, removal of limit on contributions to political parties by big corporations and allowing subsidiaries of foreign companies to make donations to political parties.

    He also referred to lack of access to justice, delay in court cases and not having competent judges also posed challenges before democracy.

    “If we have to reclaim democracy there will have to be a very robust citizen’s movement across the country. That movement will have to create its own media organisation that can be used by citizens to spread the right information,” Bhushan said.

    “Our republic has been brought to the brink and if we do not rise to the challenge the situation will become irretrievable,” he said.

    Khera said Congress alone will not be able to fight this battle to reclaim democracy without the participation of the civil society or the media.

    Jha, the Rajya Sabha member from RJD, said the real challenge was not to realise that there were challenges to democracy in the country.

    Yadav, who heads Swaraj Abhiyan, said when solemn memorial lectures are used to score petty political points one realises something was really wrong with democracy.

    NEW DELHI: Union minister V Muraleedharan on Friday made a slew of suggestions to opposition parties, including on internal democracy and promoting talent, at a seminar and left soon citing “pressing engagements”, sparking protests from other participants.

    The Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs was speaking at a seminar ‘Challenges Before Democracy’ to celebrate the 86th birth anniversary of late M P Veerendra Kumar, a socialist leader and Chairman of the Mathrubhumi Media Group.

    The other speakers at the seminar were senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan, Congress spokesman Pawan Khera, RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha, CPI(M) leader John Brittas, BJP leader Swapan Dasgupta and activist Yogendra Yadav.

    “In the present context, the opposition feels that any achievement of India will go into the account of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hence it chooses not to applaud it. Is it good for democracy,” Muraleedharan asked.

    In his 30-minute speech, mostly in Malayalam, Muraleedharan said in a democracy everyone has the right to criticise, but in his home state Kerala, a person could be put in jail for criticising the chief minister.

    In an apparent jibe at the Congress, he said people protest on the roads across the country saying ‘democracy is in peril’ when central government agencies summon a person for questioning following the due process of the law.

    As Muraleedharan began to leave, Khera and Yadav asked him to at least hear the opposition response to the points he had raised in his speech.

    “You call this democracy when the government is not ready to listen to what we have to say? This is not acceptable,” Khera said.

    In his keynote speech, Bhushan said the role of money power in democracy had increased manifold with the introduction of electoral bonds, removal of limit on contributions to political parties by big corporations and allowing subsidiaries of foreign companies to make donations to political parties.

    He also referred to lack of access to justice, delay in court cases and not having competent judges also posed challenges before democracy.

    “If we have to reclaim democracy there will have to be a very robust citizen’s movement across the country. That movement will have to create its own media organisation that can be used by citizens to spread the right information,” Bhushan said.

    “Our republic has been brought to the brink and if we do not rise to the challenge the situation will become irretrievable,” he said.

    Khera said Congress alone will not be able to fight this battle to reclaim democracy without the participation of the civil society or the media.

    Jha, the Rajya Sabha member from RJD, said the real challenge was not to realise that there were challenges to democracy in the country.

    Yadav, who heads Swaraj Abhiyan, said when solemn memorial lectures are used to score petty political points one realises something was really wrong with democracy.

  • West Bengal votes in mind, BJP may send Mithun da, Dona Ganguly to Rajya Sabha

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning to nominate actor-turned-politician Mithun Chakraborty and well-known Odissi dancer Dona Ganguly to the Rajya Sabha, sources said. The party expects the move to boost its prospects in West Bengal, they added. The duo will replace Rupa Ganguly and Swapan Dasgupta, whose terms came to an end recently. 

    Dona is the wife of former cricketer and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, who himself is said to be in the race. According to party insiders, the second seat would be given to either Dona or Sourav.

    Mithun Chakraborty had campaigned for the BJP in the last Assembly elections as well as the Lok Sabha bypolls. “He still has enormous magnetic appeal and it was seen during his campaign in the Asansol LS bypoll recently. He will certainly be an added advantage for us,” said a BJP leader with the caveat that only the top leadership can say anything on the record. Popularly known as ‘Disco Dancer’, a moniker conferred on him by his fans for his outstanding performance in the movie with the same name, has also become active in politics after a short gap. According to sources, he recently went to the West Bengal BJP office and expressed his willingness to spend time on party affairs in the state. 

    “Chakraborty’s nomination to the Rajya Sabha will not only give a strong message to the masses but it will also increase two votes for the upcoming vice-presidential elections,” said political analyst P K D Nambiar.

    READ COLUMN | Fresh and frozen decide Rajya Sabha choices

    At present, the saffron party has no representative from West Bengal in the Rajya Sabha ahead of upcoming vice-presidential elections after the terms of Ganguly and Dasgupta ended recently.

    Speculations about the Ganguly couple’s Rajya Sabha prospects began after Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited their home during his last visit to the state and had dinner with them. The Gangulys have neither confirmed nor denied reports of their being considered for Rajya Sabha. 

  • Swapan Dasgupta, Mahesh Jethmalani among four new Rajya Sabha members take oath

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Four new members of Rajya Sabha, including Swapan Dasgupta and Mahesh Jethmalani, took oath on Tuesday, with Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu noting that the public representatives have a great role to play during the challenging times of the ongoing pandemic.

    The other two members were John Brittas (CPI-M) and V Sivadasan (CPI-M), both elected from Kerala.

    Dasgupta, who had quit his membership to contest the West Bengal Assembly election, and eminent lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani are both nominated.

    Sivadasan took oath in Malayalam, while others chose English.

    Congratulating the new members, the chairman said the oath-taking ceremony is usually held in his chamber but was held in the Rajya Sabha chamber due to the prevailing pandemic situation while adhering to Covid-appropriate behaviour.

    “The oath or affirmation has been arranged now as the convening of the next session will take some time,” the Chairman noted.

    While the Monsoon session is due to be held in July, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi told PTI on Tuesday that the government is hopeful it will begin on its normal schedule.

    After administering oath to the members, Naidu said as representatives of the people “we have a great role to play during the ongoing pandemic and these challenging times have presented themselves with the problems that required coordinated effort from different entities”.

    The Chairman advised members, particularly the new ones, to take interest in motivating people in and around their constituency for COVID vaccination.

    “We need to educate them and motivate them to see that they also get vaccinated at the earliest,” he said.

    Deputy Chairman Harivansh, Leader of the House Thaawarchand Gehlot, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal were also present during the oath-taking.

    “Holding a public office is a 24X7 responsibility and it entitles a never-ending accountability towards the citizens of the country,” Naidu said, adding it is the bounden duty of members to voice people’s concerns as well as aspirations through various parliamentary devices.

    He said it is also imperative for members to maintain high standards of conduct in public life and decorum in the house of elders.

  • Swapan Dasgupta, who unsuccessfully contested West Bengal polls, renominated to Rajya Sabha

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Former journalist Swapan Dasgupta, who had resigned from Rajya Sabha and unsuccessfully contested the recent West Bengal assembly elections on a BJP ticket, has been renominated to the Upper House of Parliament by the government.

    Noted lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani was also nominated to Rajya Sabha by the cental government.

    “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-clause (a) of clause (1) of article 80 of the Constitution of India, read with clause (3) of that article, the President is pleased to renominate Shri Swapan Dasgupta to the Council of States to fill the seat which has fallen vacant due to his resignation for his reminder term viz – 24-04-2022,” according to a Home Ministry notification.

    In a separate notification, the Home Ministry said Jethmalani has been nominated to Rajya Sabha to fill the seat that has fallen vacant due to the demise of Raghunath Mohapatra for the reminder his (Mohapatra’s) term i.e till 13-07-2024.

    The President nominates renowned personalities to the Upper House on the advice of the government.

    The nominated members are drawn from fields such as literature, science, sports, art and social service.

  • Rajya Sabha accepts Swapan Dasgupta’s resignation

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha accepted the resignation of nominated member Swapan Dasgupta on Wednesday.

    Dasgupta tendered his resignation from the Upper House of Parliament on Tuesday after being named as a BJP candidate in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly polls.

    Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh said the chairman has received Dasgupta’s resignation letter dated March 16 and accepted his resignation with effect from March 17.

    Dasgupta, who became a Rajya Sabha member on April 25, 2016, has been named by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as its candidate from the Tarakeshwar constituency in poll-bound West Bengal.

    His term as a member of the Upper House was till April 24, 2022.

    Dasgupta’s resignation came after Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mohua Moitra raised objections to him being named as a candidate of the saffron party for the West Bengal polls.

    After the announcement of the acceptance of Dasgupta’s resignation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented a statement showing supplementary demand for grants in respect of Jammu and Kashmir and laid a statement on the table of the estimated receipt and expenditure of the Union Territory for 2021-22.

    She also presented a statement showing supplementary demand for grants in respect of Puducherry and the budget of the Union Territory for 2021-22.

  • MPs, defectors and actors among candidates: BJP deploys heavy artillery in south Bengal

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA:  The BJP is deploying heavy artillery to wrest south Bengal from the Trinamool Congress, if one were to go by the list of candidates for 63 seats in the third and fourth phases of the eight-phase West Bengal Assembly polls.

    For, it has fielded four BJP members of Parliament, four defectors and an equal number of actors, trying to whip up enthusiasm and possibly create a wave for the big fight.

    The party has already made deep inroads in north Bengal during the Lok Sabha polls. While Union minister and Asansol MP Babul Supriyo will contest from Tollygunge in Kolkata, Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta will enter the fray from Tarakeshwar.

    Dasgupta’s name is already doing the rounds as a possible chief ministerial candidate.

    ALSO READ | ‘BJP will bring back Sonar Bangla’: Amit Shah tells voters ahead of WB Assembly elections

    Tarakeshwar is a popular Hindu pilgrimage site in Hooghly district and his candidature is significant in the backdrop of the BJP’s Hindutva rhetoric.

    Fielding Supriyo in Tollygunge is being seen as a smart move as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, while announcing her party’s candidate list, had hinted she might contest from there besides Nandigram.

    Former minister in Mamata’s cabinet Rajib Banerjee has been fielded from his own constituency Domjur in Howrah and Trinamool defector Rabindranath Bhattacharya from Singur. Bhattacharya joined the BJP two days after Mamata denied him a ticket.

    But angry BJP supporters in Singur reportedly locked up visiting Madhya Pradesh health minister Prabhuram Chaudhary in a party office, demanding Bhattacharya’s axing from the list.

    Meanwhile, minutes after he was nominated as BJP candidate from Tarakeswar assembly seat in Hooghly district, Dasgupta said his party wants to put an end to TMCs ‘syndicate raj’ in West Bengal.

    He also asked people who hail from the state but live outside to “chip in” and help the BJP build ‘Sonar Bangla’ (golden Bengal).

    “We all are aware about the situation prevailing in state. This atmosphere of violence, extortion. We want to end that. The BJP will ensure that people in Bengal get to live in peace,” he said.

    Senior saffron party leaders including Amit Shah and J P Nadda have often hit out at the Mamata Banerjee camp for allegedly patronising syndicates and clubs that extort money from common people.

    Dasgupta also said that “work opportunities have dried up” in the state, and talented youth are moving out for jobs and higher education.

    ALSO READ | Denied poll ticket, BJP aspirants protest across Bengal; TMC turncoat Sovan Chatterjee quits

    “Bengalis have been able to establish themselves all over the world. Sadly, they do not get enough scope to work here and move out. We wish to stem that flow,” he said.

    Taking to Twitter, he wrote, “Honoured to be nominated by the West Bengal BJP to contest from Tarakeshwara centre of Bengals cultural heritage. I look forward to the campaign for a new, vibrant Sonar Bangla.”

    (With PTI Inputs)