PANAJI
Leaders of various opposition parties are trying to raise issues in Parliament but attempts are being made to suppress the voice of the opposition parties in the ongoing Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha sessions, South Goa MP Viriato Fernandes said on Saturday.
Fernandes who addressed the media at the Congress headquarters in Panaji along with Congress' South Goa District chief Savio D'Silva and spokesman Srinivas Khalap, said that opposition leaders are not being allowed to speak in Parliament and their microphones are being deliberately turned off when they stand up to speak.
"According to the constitution, parliamentary committees are required to meet regularly. However, currently even these meetings are not held and information about the topics that will come up in the Lok Sabha the next day is also not given on time," Fernandes alleged.
This is proving to be dangerous for parliamentary democracy, he said, adding that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has been petitioned about these issues and urged to run Parliament's proceedings according to the rules and bring transparency ito its functioning.
Fernandes also said that Goa's Political Reservation Bill to give a quotable of assembly seats to the Scheduled Tribes was discussed in the previous session and is expected to be passed in the current session but is yet the come up in the list of business.
He said, all the three MPs from Goa must raise the issues of Goa in unison in Parliament.
"Which party does it is not important. Goa is important," Fernandes said.
