Planned 10 days ago, Trinamool Congress executes protest in Parliament

With the green signal given ten days ago, Trinamool Congress MPs on Friday executed their protest in Parliament Central Hall against CAA-NPR-NRC during President Ram Nath Kovind’s address with “no screaming and no shouting” as instructed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

At 11.45 am, as the President was reading out his speech, around 20-25 Trinamool MPs suddenly were on their feet with banners ‘No CAA’, ‘No NPR’ and ‘No NRC’. They stood in silence for about five minutes, registering their protest against the government move before they sat down.

Three MPs, including Dola Sen and Santanu Sen, wore shirts with inscriptions ‘No CAA’ and ‘No NRC’ even as Lok Sabha leader Sudip Bandhopadhyay and Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien sat in their designated seats in the second row.

A video was also shot by an MP and shared with the media.

Sources said Mamata had decided to protest on the issue ten days ago during a students’ protest in Kolkata and asked her MPs to execute it but with “no screaming, no shouting”. They said she was categorical that there should be no disrespect to the President and they should not disrupt his speech.

The address had its share of drama too as one of the MPs stood up to express his views on NRC in Assam. While UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad refused to sit in front rows, former prime minister Manmohan Singh sat in the front row.