Derek O'Brien pauses for a minute during RS speech to pay respect to farmers dead during protest

Trinamool Congress floor leader Derek O'Brien on Thursday was joined by Opposition MPs to observe a minute silence in Rajya Sabha when he stopped his speech mid-way to pay respect to farmers who died during their protest in the past two months against contentious farm laws.

Some comments like 'this is done without the permission from the Chair' came from the Treasury benches. BJP MPs did not join O'Brien or other Opposition MPs.

O'Brien was speaking during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address when he told the House that the Trinamool Congress MPs in the House have decided to pay respects to the dead farmers in the House.

He said the protests at the Delhi borders are not by the Opposition but by the farmers. "Look at what the farmers have done," he said.

The Trinamool Congress leader then said that his party MPs felt that they should participate in the debate and the question was how. He said they would do it in a small way by bowing their heads in respect of around 200 farmers who passed away during the protest.

Also read: Farm laws: Vir Das, Tapsee Pannu among those sailing against the current

"Sometimes words are not enough. I can only tell what we are going to do. I can only tell what (Trinamool MPs) Sukhendu Shekhar Roy, Dinesh Trivedi and Nadimul Haque will do. I will cut short my speech for one minute and four of us will stand for one minute in tribute to those farmers who lost their lives," he said.

As soon as O'Brien said, Opposition MPs from Congress, including Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, and members of Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, BSP and DMK among others stood up to express solidarity.

A minute later, O'Brien resumed his speech during which he targeted the Narendra Modi government saying it has failed in several counts, including in handling the Covid-19 pandemic and preserving the sanctity of Parliament.

He urged the government to repeal the three controversial farm laws and offered a ''Repealing Bill 2021' drafted by him for the purpose. "I will share it with them (government). You repeal these bills. There is a way to do it. Eighteen months' pause you will put on these (laws), but how?" he said

O'Brien also referred to the controversial death of a young farmer during the tractor rally by farmers on Republic even as he condemned the violence at Red Fort. He said there should be a "proper inquiry" so the truth could come out.

"Just imagine that unfortunate tractor incident where a farmer died under mysterious circumstances, just imagine if that happened in Bengal or Maharashtra. All I am saying is that the truth be told. I am not coming to any conclusions. Let the truth come out. The Home Minister is in charge. Do a proper inquiry and let the truth come out," he said.

With BJP stepping up campaign ahead of West Bengal Assembly elections, he said, "first take care of Delhi then think about Bengal. Don't make the pandemic excuse."

"The home minister was to come to Bengal for a political rally. He needed to stay back in Delhi. So what was done. Two and a half or one and a half MLAs who were switching sides, were sent the chartered planes and brought there in four hours," he said while adding that he wished "so much love, care and affection was shown" towards migrant workers during the lockdown.