Inside Parliament by Derek O’Brien ; Published by Harper Collins ; Pages 198 ; Price Rs 499/-

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Derek O'Brien is one of the  most famous Quiz masters of the country. He is  the leader of the Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party in the Rajya Sabha and also its Chief National Spokesman.  He has authored around 52 books.

Derek O’ Brien dominated Indian television as the country s most well-known quizmaster for over two decades, asking questions to millions across India. Now he plays a key role in the Rajya Sabha, raising difficult questions from the front row in the Upper House. One of the most candid, courageous voices of the Opposition, he is articulate, incisive and provocative--- qualities that are apparent in his writing. In this book, comprising his best political essays, Derek  reflects on the state of the nation, offering insights from a unique vantage point inside Parliament. Never afraid of controversy or contention, he covers topics ranging from the Constitution, the effects of a hasty GST rollout and demonetisation to the media, the lessons he learnt as an MP and the 2019 elections.

He makes his political book debut, taking on the policies and practices of the Central government, the contemporary issues plaguing India, and the way forward for both India and his party .There are 46  essays in this book—divided into five categories—“Parliamentary Affairs”; “ The State of the Nation”;”Saying it like it is”; "The Economics of it”  and “ The Greater Common Good”.

 Derek declared "The government is trying to write a false narrative around a ten-letter word: Corruption. We, the Opposition, are trying to set the narrative right with another ten-letter word: Competence.” 

Terming the Parliament as a "university", he said:

" Every day you walk in there, you learn something new, you learn about the rules, how business is conducted, and more than all of this, you listen to different views on a particular subject. Sitting on the first row of Rajya Sabha, I sometimes feel like a teenager given the experience of other members like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and Arun Jaitley."

 O'Brien has expressed concern about those who "undermine" the Rajya Sabha, and called those forcing the government to rethink its powers "dishonest". Elaborating, he said:

" I was disappointed that Arun Jaitley, a Parliamentarian that I look up to, called the Rajya Sabha “irrelevant”. That was petty politics. He himself comes from the Rajya Sabha, after losing the Lok Sabha elections in 2014. It is because of Rajya Sabha that an Indian has not lost a good Parliamentarian."

Derek vehemently protests against the step-motherly treatment meted out to the Rajya Sabha as evidenced by the introduction of the G S T Bills in Parliament as “Money Bils” thus bypassing the Upper House. He pleads for maintaining Rajya Sabha’s authority as a deliberate check on the Executive, not as a hindrance but as a moral authority.

Special mention must be made of “A True Leader Forgets None”. This is a vivid recollection of Derek’s working with Mamata Banerjee who is the Founder of the Trinamool Congress Party. "Her key strength is in never forgetting the details and the people that make the Trinamool Ecosystem and our political family”.

Derek makes an incisive attack on CPI (M) who ruled Bengal for 34 years from 1977 to 2011. “They took the vitality out of Bengal; for me and my generation. It sucked away the best years of our youth. My University-Calcutta University- and the rich atmosphere of the educational institutions in the College Street area, including my Alma Mater, Scottish Church College, were wrecked”. They maintained their grip on West Bengal through scare tactics,  violence, an authoritarian control over police and district bureaucracy. Derek quotes an economist friend. "They are leaving you with the aftermath of a war-zone; the economy and the social fabric are both in tatters. The next government is not so much to revive Bengal as to reconstruct it”

 According to Derek “The BJP is breaking down institutions, and one such institution they are not taking seriously is the Parliament.” He has written that the BJP government at the Centre should be “judged” on the basis of the acronym ‘JUDGE’ – which according to him stands for:

 J – joblessness

 U- underperformance

 D- demonetisation,

 G- GST, and

 E--economy and its state.

Derek concludes enthusistically ,”No matter how many attempts are made by the BJP-RS to change this country we must not allow it. I was born and grew up in Calcutta, in a Hindu neighbourhood. We lived on a street named after a Muslim. We are a Christian family. This is the India I know. That is the only India I want to know. Marginalised or not marginalised, nobody must destroy this. We will get together to GST—Grow Strong Together .

Thought-provoking and captivating at once,  “Inside Parliament” is required reading for all interested in understanding today s India and all who care about its future.

P.P.Ramachandran.

 17/12/2017