New Delhi: Home Minister P Chidambaram on Sunday used sarcasm to depict today`s reality in Parliament, which has been paralysed during the entire Monsoon Session over the 2G Spectrum issue.
"Today, the Parliament convenes at 11 AM and it ends
at 11.05 AM. It ends in five minutes. We discuss about the
day-to-day happenings in just five minutes. We discuss
everything by that time," Chidambaram said sarcastically at a
function in Tamil Sangam here.
He made the remarks while recalling "great debates"
between late Congress leader C Subramaniam and the DMK leader
CN Annadurai in the Tamil Nadu Assembly in 1960s.
Since the Winter Session began on November 10,
Parliament has not been functioning due to Opposition uproar
over constitution of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe
the 2G spectrum scam.
Speaking at the function to commemorate the centenary
year of Subramaniam, pioneer of India`s Green revolution who
held several portfolios in the Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira
Gandhi cabinets, Chidambaram hailed his role in India`s
freedom struggle and described him as a statesman.
The Minister said C Subramaniam, Agriculture scientist
M S Swaminathan and the then Agriculture Secretary B Sivaraman
played a major role in translating the dream of a `green
revolution` into reality.
"Then in 1970s we did not have wheat and most of it
were being imported. People used to jokingly say `Ship to
Mouth`. Once the wheat is shipped into the country, it is
cooked and people used to have it immeidately. But now the
problem is non-availability of godowns to store them," he
said.
As a result of this, 1 lakh tonnes of wheat and rice
are being wasted and rats are eating them and the Supreme
Court is chiding.
"It was this man (Subramaniam) who pioneered the Green
Revolution... Everyone is proud that the three S (Subramaniam,
Swaminathan and Sivaraman) are from Tamil Nadu," he said.
Terming Subramaniam as a man who was "deeply
interested" in promoting the use of Tamil and the language,
Chidambaram said he played a very vital role in naming the
then Madras state as Tamil Nadu.
"Though many people can take credit now for these
things, and many people may have forgotten these things, I am
indebted to recall his contributions to Tamil," the Home
Minister said.
He recalled Subramaniam`s contributions to the Mid Day
Meals scheme as the Education Minister of Tamil Nadu when
it was introduced by then Chief Minister K Kamaraj.
PTI
