Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MPs criticised the Centre on Thursday in the Parliament over two distinct issues—failing to grant special recognition to Bengal’s freedom fighters at Cellular Jail and neglecting to address the issue of duplicate EPIC cards. They also questioned how elections could be conducted in a free and fair manner if fake EPIC cards persist.
Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose outside Parliament said: “For the last few days, we have been regularly giving notices. We have been repeatedly giving notices and demanding a discussion in Parliament on the issue of duplicate EPIC cards. The government at the Centre has assured us that they will allow a discussion. The Chairman himself said he will consider a discussion. But, every day under some pretext or the other, the discussion on duplicate EPIC cards is not being allowed.” “We want to ask – when you have already signalled your willingness to have a discussion on duplicate EPIC cards, why is it not being allowed? Duplicate EPIC cards goes to the very heart of our electoral democracy. It is about a clean and fair electoral roll and therefore, a free and fair poll. It concerns every voter, every citizen. It concerns the entire nation. All Opposition parties are on board. We all want a discussion on duplicate EPIC cards but for some pretext or the other, this discussion is not being allowed. We are continuing to demand it and we will continue to demand it,” Ghose further pointed out.
Another Rajya Sabha MP of the party Ritabrata Banerjee speaking on the issue said: “We have been giving notices regularly. There has to be a discussion on the duplicate EPIC cards in the Parliament. We demand that the government discuss this issue irrespective of the notice under which it is done.
The Opposition MPs are continuously giving notices to have a discussion on the matter because we cannot have free and fair elections when duplicate EPIC cards are in existence.” Banerjee further stated: “Mamata Banerjee raised this issue first and now, across the country, this has emerged as a burning topic. We don’t understand that if this will not be discussed in the Parliament, then where else will it be discussed? Every day, we are giving notices but the Chair and the Government clearly don’t want a discussion on this.” Banerjee in the Rajya Sabha also exposed how the Union Ministry of Culture has made no efforts to honour and preserve the legacy of Bengali freedom fighters jailed in the Andaman Cellular Jail during the freedom movement.
On Thursday, the Ministry of Culture stated that no busts exist, nor are there any proposals to install busts, in honour of Bengali revolutionaries Ullaskar Dutta and Barin Ghosh at the infamous jail. Slamming the BJP government at the Centre over its continued disdain towards Bengali icons, the Rajya Sabha MP said: “I inquired if there were any busts of Bengali revolutionaries Ullaskar Dutta and Barin Ghosh at the Andaman Cellular Jail. The response stated that none exist, and there are no plans to install them.”