@ThinkTank · 0:45
Parliament, India and beyond- In Conversation with BJP Member of Parliament Swapan Dasgupta
So I hope you enjoy this conversation, which I'm about to have. Mr. Dasgupta, it's such a pleasure to have you join me on Swell today. So thank you so much for taking the time out. And I'm going to be following this introduction up with a few questions, and I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on them
@ThinkTank · 0:19
Mr. Dasgupta, you mentioned in your farewell speech in the Raja Saba on the 31 March that it seems lawmaking is less important than delivery, performance and facilitation, can you explain to us what you meant by this and how would you say Parliament has evolved over the years in terms of its role in public life
Swapan Dasgupta
@Swapan55 · 3:10
And there is a lot of scope for feedback. There is a lot of scope for criticism. There is a lot of scope for everything. The engagement of people's representatives with the executive, therefore, has to take a slightly different form altogether. And my suggestion in Parliament was that we tweak the timetable of Parliament and somehow trust to the new realities of India
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
@ThinkTank · 0:16
Mr. Dasgupta, over the last few years, we've seen a lot of controversies around certain bills in Parliament, namely the Citizenship Amendment Act and Farm Laws. How do you view these two laws in particular, as well as the public reaction? Do them
Swapan Dasgupta
@Swapan55 · 4:56
But I think it's also necessary to point out that there are large parts of India which have very small farmers and they need a different form of incentives. Encouragement. Unfortunately, this is opposition didn't take into account that I still feel it was a good legislation
@ThinkTank · 0:50
So in terms of Hindu and Hindatoa, there are members of Parliament from the Congress Party and others who state that Hindatoa is mostly a political force, which is problematic. Can you talk to us about what your view is in terms of the difference between Hindutva and Hinduism any? And how does this go with the idea of India in general
Swapan Dasgupta
@Swapan55 · 4:24
And I think this is a relevant thing, a relevant observation. Hindu Toa means Hinduness. It has nothing to do with your mode of worship. You can be a shy wide, you can be a Vishnui, you can be believer in charge of work, you can even be an atheist and that can even be formed part of your personal or Congregational belief systems. But is talking about the experience of Hindus over the ages. It talks about the feelings you have
@ThinkTank · 0:21
Shifting focus. Mrs Dasgupta, you come from the state of West Bengal. Can you give us an overview of what the situation is on the ground? You fought a toughly contested election, but what is your reading of the Manta back energy government's performance in terms of the economy as well as law and order and other parameters
Swapan Dasgupta
@Swapan55 · 4:56
Now, as an electoral strategy, it might be viable, but in terms of the social fabric of West Berg or what it is doing is very dangerous. And therefore, in the coming days, I expect Bengal's politics to take an increasingly more polarized turn, which is not good for the state, which is not good for the economy of the country, and it's certainly not good for the Bengalis who's still there, who haven't yet left
@ThinkTank · 0:52
So I just have one final question. The country seems to be bouncing back from the economic slowdown as a result of the COVID pandemic. What do you see as the key areas of growth and revival? And so in the next few years, I think we've got a lot of state elections. And in the run up to the big general election, how would you see the BJP performing in each of these state elections, whether it's Gujarat or Karnataka?
Swapan Dasgupta
@Swapan55 · 4:49
Yes, it is true that the BJP has one of the things which the BJP has learned from the experience of the bars by government was that it's important to keep the party structure absolutely well oiled and intact even when you're in government. Otherwise the temptation has always been that when you are in government, everything, the focus shifts to government and the party suffers
@ThinkTank · 0:34
With that. Mr. Dasgupta, I want to thank you so much for taking the time out to join me on Swell today. It is such an incisive and enriching conversation, and it was wonderful to hear your take on all these important questions
Swapan Dasgupta
@Swapan55 · 0:10
Thank you very much for this conversation. I enjoyed it thoroughly and I hope to see you back sometime. Thank you