TMC MP Derek O'Brien has eight counter questions for govt after 8-minister presser

Brushing away the Centre's allegations as bluster, O'Brien posted eight questions to the ministers ranging from the Pegasus snooping scandal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's limited participation in Parliament activities.

"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?" the Trinamool MP said in a video message.

"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 gone 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," he said.

"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?" O'Brien asked in another question.

"Why did you not allow the opposition a discussion on Pegasus, internal security, repeal of farm laws. 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," he added.

Both Houses of the Parliament witnessed repeated adjournments during the monsoon session and several bills were passed in din.

After the Parliament was adjourned abruptly two days before the scheduled closure, the Union government earlier in the day released a statement slamming the 'deplorable actions by opposition Members of Parliament (MPs)' which it feels 'have become a norm.'

"Their actions in this session were not an exception but a continuation. From tearing of the rule book last year to the opposition indulging in most unparliamentary conducts ever witnessed by this House, the conduct of opposition is becoming shameful day by day," the government said as eight Union Ministers addressed a press conference in the evening.

The press conference was attended by Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Prahlad Joshi, Bhupendra Yadav, Anurag Singh Thakur, Arjun Ram Meghwal and V Muraleedharan.

The Ministers pointed out that the opposition had publicly stated that the session should be washed out.

"Their intention was to not let the house conduct business. In fact, the Government had offered discussions on several occasions. However, appeals for discussions fell on deaf ears and they even took papers from the hands of the Hon’ble Minister and tore them," the ministers said.

During the overall monsoon session, the opposition had put up a united front against the government over the Pegasus snooping controversy, farm laws, price rise, and other issues.

Opposition leaders held several strategy meets through the session, and held demonstrations as well.

The monsoon session of Parliament, which started on July 19 was scheduled to end on August 13, but was cut short amid continuing protests.