TMC rakes up Nisith nationality issue, disrupts PM listing of ministers in Parl

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress on Monday took the citizenship controversy over newly appointed MoS home and Cooch Behar MP Nisith Pramanik to

Parliament

, refusing to let Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduce his new council of ministers. The party said it would keep pressing the issue both inside and outside Parliament.

“Ministers are supposed to be citizens of India. Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora had already written to the prime

minister

on it. Our party chief whip in the Rajya Sabha, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, has also raised the issue. That is why both in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, we did not let the prime minister introduce a person who is not even a citizen of India,” Trinamool spokesperson and Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien said.

In Lok Sabha, protests were led by party leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay and chief whip Kalyan Banerjee.

Asked whether Trinamool was mulling any legal move against the Union minister of state, Derek said: “We will not allow this minister to reply to questions or table papers (in Parliament).” He, however, did not specify the legal measures but said: “What we do inside and outside Parliament will be decided daily. Keep a watch, ball-by-ball, in the days to come.”

Ray, Derek’s colleague in the Upper House, cited Rule 249 to argue that the PM has to lay in the House a list of ministers after cabinet reshuffle. He cited Wikipedia to claim that the MoS home was reportedly a Bangladeshi.

Pramanik has not issued any statement after the citizenship row surfaced. Bengal BJP general secretary Sayantan Basu, however, has fanned the controversy by telling media that the Union minister had come as a refugee from Bangladesh. Pramanik, however, was born in 1986.

Trinamool said it wanted the Centre to discuss issues in the House, not outside, and alleged that the government was “running away from the House”. “The (Union) government is not in a mood to discuss. We have given multiple notices for discussions inside the House. We had flagged issues on fuel and LPG price hike, repeal of farm laws, Covid and vaccine issues, reinstate the MPLAD funds, attack on federalism and economy. But no discussion was allowed today,” Derek said. “A part of parliamentary proceedings, a business advisory committee meeting was scheduled at 4pm on Monday. Even that was deferred,” he added.