The former quiz master said that the BJP had failed to deliver on its promises and would pay the price in the upcoming general elections.
Noida: The BJP has failed to deliver on its promises and will be “thrown out” in the 2019 general elections, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien said Tuesday.
“They (BJP) are completely off track and haven’t delivered. Definitely watch your television on 1 February. Two Lok Sabha by-elections are coming up, you’ll get your answer,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.
Speaking about the 2019 elections, O’Brien said that the Modi government would lose.
“The BJP is going to be thrown out. Digital India is actually Divisive India,” O’Brien said at an interactive session at Democracy Wall, moderated by The Print’s Associate Editor Ruhi Tewari.
“It’s very easy to sell a product. The problem is the repurchase,” he said.
Democracy Wall is a monthly free speech campus initiative organised by ThePrint in collaboration with Facebook. The first event at Amity University campus in Noida featured O’Brien, actor Richa Chadha, Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma and comedy group Aisi Taisi Democracy.
O’Brien also spoke about the importance of the opposition in a Parliamentary democracy.
“The Constitution is under threat, Parliament is under threat. Yesterday Modi spoke, but not a single word about unity in diversity, or communal violence,” he said.
“Opposition has to J-U-D-G-E—jobs, under-performance, demonetisation, GST, economy —till 2019,” the legislator said.
When asked about his best moments as an MP, O’Brien said, “You have to know your constituency. In Parliament, we are political rivals, but not political enemies. We’ll have a chat, we’ll offer condolences if something happens. You can’t become a gas balloon in Delhi.”
A student asked O’Brien about TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s outburst in a 2012 interview, in which she walked out after calling the audience Maoists. The TMC MP was asked if her actions were fair.
“In 2011-12, the situation was different…Now even with a provocative interviewer or channel, she wont do it,” O’Brien said.
In response to a question from a student, the former quiz master said that he believes quizzing is terribly boring.
“Nerds quiz, I don’t think it’s important. However, being knowledgeable is important. It’s not important to remember information, it is how you use the information that’s important,” O’Brien said.
BJP under Modi ride to power in 2014, capitalising on Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption plank. But ironically, Modi took no interest in enacting a Lokpal bill for over 4 years since coming to power. Now at fag end of the present Lok Sabha term, moves are seen to supposedly get this moving. The question is, ‘Why was it delayed for so long? Was Modi scared of Lok Pal?