From quizmaster to nuisance: Derek O’Brien gets kicked out of Rajya Sabha session

While human civilization has progressed leaps and bounds, the intellect of several human beings has unfortunately degraded. One such human being is Trinamool Congress’s, Derek O’Brien. Derek, who once ran a popular quiz show, is now a politician infamous for creating a nuisance. In a recent development, Derek O’Brien was kicked out of Rajya Sabha.

Derek O’Brien – A rabble-rouser

Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien was suspended from Parliament for the rest of the Winter Session on Tuesday. He has been suspended for allegedly throwing the Rajya Sabha rule book at the chair and walking out during protests over an election reforms bill.

Derek’s action came as a result of the opposition’s protest against the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill 2021, which has been passed in both houses amid fierce protests. The new bill has been brought to link Aadhaar numbers with voter ID cards.

Derek continued to protest that the “bill was being rammed through the Rajya Sabha without enough notice to members.”

Union Minister Piyush Goyal, the leader of the Rajya Sabha, asserted, “The way TMC leader Derek O’Brien has thrown the rule book, this is not only the insult of the chair or the secretary general or the table or the House, it is an insult to the entire country.”

Mr O’Brien, refuting the claims, stated, “Oh! Really? Who said I threw the rule book? Show me the footage.”

Derek attacked the Government

He, later, took to Twitter to target the government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

He tweeted, “The last time I got suspended from RS was when the government was BULLDOZING farm laws. We all know what happened after that. Today, suspended while protesting against BJP making a mockery of parliament and BULLDOZING the Election Laws Bill 2021. Hope this Bill too will be repealed soon.”

“After breaking every rule and precedent, BJP has the gall to give lectures about the Rule Book. Irony just died. (Only two people at the funeral) Guess who,” he wrote.

After walking out of the Rajya Sabha, Mr O’Brien tweeted a video alleging that the government was bulldozing legislation.

In the video, he can be seen saying, “RajyaSabha TV is being censored. All opposition MPs are in the well of the RajyaSabha, objecting to the bill linking Aadhaar with voter ID. The government is bulldozing it. Like the farm bills, a mockery is being made out of parliament. This is worse than Emergency. TV is being censored, parliament is being killed,” Trinamool leader, further added that he was forced to come out and record himself on the phone.

Quizmaster turned politician Derek O’Brien

Prior to joining the TMC in 2004, Derek was popularly known as the quizmaster of the Bournvita quiz. Derek has also conducted several shows across the world.

The quiz, named after health drink company Bournvita, made its entry on the radio in 1972. Afterwards, it made its way to television in 1994 and was being aired on Zee Channel.

O’Brien, in 2002, had said, “The quiz has generated a great deal of interest among schools in the West Asian region, with 100 schools from this region participating in the preliminary round.”

He was also awarded the Indian Television Academy Milestone Award in 2010 for the Cadbury Bournvita Quiz Contest.

Inspired by the charisma and personality of the Trinamool Congress leader (now chief minister of Bengal) Mamata Banerjee, he felt that she was the only one who could defeat the then CPI(M)-led Communist government in the state.

After becoming a spokesperson for the Trinamool Congress, people began identifying him as the rare white-collar, English-speaking politician in the party. He grabbed the national media attention during Mamata Banerjee’s protest against the CPI(M) government’s land acquisition attempt in Singur (2006), and then during the 2009 Lok Sabha election, in which Trinamool Congress handed the CPI(M) its first defeat in West Bengal since 1977.

Such was the popularity of Derek O’Brien. But, success is more difficult to handle than failure. And, Derek, evidently, could not handle it. Now, he is being disregarded and he himself has to be blamed for it.