Sir, I stand here on behalf of the NCP for this very
important discussion which was actually started by the hon. Prime Minister
on a very emotional note. After a long time, the hon. Prime Minister
spoke as a statesman. So, I was presuming that this debate was not about the arguments
which we usually do. But unfortunately, when the hon. Member
from the Treasury Benches started speaking, he made it really political,
which is not what the hon. Prime Minister’s speech says. So, I will
follow the Prime Minister’s speech first but I will seek your help, guidance,
and100 time for two minutes to give a
few clarifications to the hon. Members. I would not speak as
much as120 the hon. Member
does but I would like to give a few clarifications before I make it a little
political with your permission. India is the largest democracy in the
world. Democracy, freedom, secularism, fraternity, equality – this is what Dr.
B. R. Ambedkar gave us in this Constitution. This is the organisation,
the temple of democracy, the Parliament, where we all are absolutely blessed that
we have had the opportunity to speak on behalf of millions of
Indians to debate,200 deliberate,
have discussions, and make sure that the last person becomes first. That is
what really the common agenda is whether you are sitting on this side or
that side. I appreciate the hon. Prime Minister’s speech today where he240 said that governance is continuity.
Various people have contributed over the last seven decades to build
this country which we all love equally. It does not matter whether you call it
India or Bharat; it is your own country. We are all born here. We are all
blessed to be here. I think I would take the point forward by300 mentioning unity in diversity. This
is the beauty of India. I think that is what clearly comes across in most
of the speeches which were made. I am a Member of Parliament
since 2009. Clearly, this is a huge legacy that we have been blessed to
have. Here, I felt a little sorry and I would put it on record.360 Unfortunately, two persons who had highly
influenced my parliamentary work have not been mentioned by the
BJP today. Though they come from the BJP, I feel that they were one of the
tallest leaders and extraordinary parliamentarians whom we
looked400 up to. They are late Sushma
Swaraj and late Arun Jaitley, who constantly talked about
cooperative federalism. It is not about this side or that side; good
work has to be appreciated. Sir, the building in which we are all
sitting today, was opened on 18th January, 1927. Thousands and thousands
of Indian artisans have contributed for this work. Here,
everybody talked about Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
The hon. Prime Minister mentioned about them. Every480 wall, every tile, every bench has a story to tell. They
cannot articulate it, but there are so many stories,500 decisions and controversies that the
walls of this beautiful Parliament have seen.
A lot of debate has gone about the Bills. They did a lot of good
work; we did a lot of good work. So, nobody can take away what each of us did
here, but I would definitely like to make a few suggestions while we are here. I
would like to highlight the average age, which is something for us
to deliberate upon. These are just observations and suggestions for us
to deliberate as a team. The average age of today’s Parliament is much older
than when we600 really started;
and this is one of the youngest countries. So, whichever side we sit on, we
must think about this factor for sure. I would speak about the women MPs
now. Most of these women here today have been640
asking for the Women’s Reservation Bill. All the parties are concerned, and
we support it. But there was a question, which my honourable friend
raised, on which I would just like to put the record straight. Let me tell him
that the first woman President of India was Shrimati Pratibha Patil and she was
from the Congress Party. The first700
woman Prime Minister of this country was Shrimati Indira Gandhi, and she
was from the Congress Party. Similarly, the first720
woman Speaker of Lok Sabha was Shrimati Meira Kumar, and she was from the
Congress Party. So, this is what we have done. Sir, I would like to put one
more thing on record which probably my colleague missed out, that
the Women’s Reservation Bill was also brought out by us. Unfortunately, we
did not have the numbers and so we could not pass it. That was
also brought by the Congress Party. The late Rajiv Gandhi and the then
Chief800 Minister of Maharashtra Shri
Sharad Pawar were the first people who brought 33 per cent reservation for
women in every Panchayat in this country. I am very proud to say that Maharashtra
was the first State to bring it to840
33 per cent, and then we raised it to 50 per cent. So, this is what has been
done for women. Since we are all deliberating here, I take this
opportunity to say that 50 per cent of India’s population is
women. So, why do we not deliberate this in the new Parliament Building?
Maybe this can be the900 first
decision that the hon. Minister can take in the new building. We will all
support him if he brings in reservation for women in Parliament and in
Assemblies. We will whole-heartedly support this Bill.
Sir, there is another small observation which I would like
to make. Please do not take it negatively. As I mentioned, this is the960
first time in Lok Sabha that we had no Deputy-Speaker. This must be the
only term since Independence where there has been no
Deputy-Speaker. Two of the Cabinet Ministers are sitting here. While we
are moving to the new Parliament Building,1000
they should take this issue up for having a Deputy-Speaker, maybe for few
months because we do not know when they are going to announce the elections.
But this is a record that there has been no Deputy-Speaker in
this term. I think, this is something which none of us should support. Now, I
would make another suggestion about the sittings of the Lok Sabha. Their number
should go up. In 1956, the number of1080
sittings was 151 days. Why cannot we have more days? We are all happy to work.
What do1100 we get elected for? It is
for us to come here, deliberate and make sure that we serve the nation. This
Government has brought a record number of Ordinances. So, why don’t
we have more Parliament days? Why does this Government need to bring so
many Ordinances? If you are in such a hurry, call for a Parliament
session. Instead of having four sessions, we can have six sessions. What is
the problem? The other thing is that the number of voters has gone up. So, constituencies
are becoming huge now. Is that something that the Government would consider?
This1200 is a very positive
suggestion that I would like to make to the Government.
