The Trinamool Congress (TMC), Rajya Sabha MP, Derek O’ Brien again misused his parliamentary privilege to defame an ordinary citizen. He used derogatory remarks against lawyer Prashant Patel. In the Upper House of the Parliament, Derek labelled Prashant Patel as ‘India’s most vilest hatred spreading monger.’
https://twitter.com/ippatel/status/1022435479784849408
https://twitter.com/India_Policy/status/1022472590135320576
Prashant Patel is a young and fearless advocate, he is best known for his petition which inspired Election Commission to take action against 21 AAP MLAs for holding the office of profit. He has been a huge headache for the anti-India elements. Speaking to opindia, the young advocate said he was targeted because he is continuously exposing communist-Naxal gang and their lies’. He also claimed that TMC party was attacking him on behalf of AAP whom he has been fighting. Prashant Patel said he has also received death threats and now his opponents are especially targeting him to launch a two-sided attack on him, both on social media and outside. He claimed that his opponents cannot counter him logically and legally so now they are trying their level best to silence his voice.
A parliamentarian enjoys immunity from proceedings in any court in respect of anything said by him/her on the floor of the House. MP’s enjoy complete protection even if the words uttered by them in the house are derogatory, false and malicious in nature. MP’s like Derek O’Brien, are grossly misusing this privileges to attack private citizens which is a very shameful thing and by doing such things they are setting up extremely wrong precedence and also lowering down the dignity of the Parliament in the eyes of common citizen. This is not the first time that Derek has indulged in misusing his parliamentary privilege, earlier also he targeted the co-founder of opindia website, Rahul Raj. It looks like a systematic pattern is going on to silence the young and dynamic voices that are exposing the propaganda and lies perpetrated by lutyen media and their coteries active in the politics. They are rattled and frustrated and it is clearly visible in their actions. It shows their extreme intolerance towards alternate voices.
Derek O’Brien is a repeat offender. It’s high time to bring some amendments in parliamentary privileges. A Parliament cannot be treated as the independent territory where lawmakers can exercise the unlimited freedom to defame and slander anyone. The freedom to say anything to anyone goes against the very concept of justice because it denies opportunity to ordinary citizens to counter the false and baseless claims of a Parliamentarian.
Under Mamata Banerjee’s rule in West Bengal there is hardly any room for independent voices against the Mamata government. TMC MP’s repeated attack against private individual goes on to show what would be the scenario if a third front government or united opposition government comes to power under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee.
