Kolkata (West Bengal): Noted economist Kaushik Basu, who earlier served as the chief economist of the World Bank and the chief economic adviser of India, on Wednesday lauded Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra for her speech in the Lok Sabha.
In her strong-worded speech during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address, she lashed out at the government for making "hate and bigotry" a part of its narrative and alleged that the judiciary and the media have also "failed" the country.
"Mohua Moitra's speech today, touching on farm laws, migrant labor, and economic growth, will go down as one of the great parliamentary speeches in the world," Basu said in a tweet.
Moitra repeatedly used terms like cowards and cowardice to slam the government for "hiding behind" power and authority and alleged that it has made India a "virtual police state" by charging critical voices with sedition.
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The government''s decision to impose a nationwide lockdown following the outbreak of COVID-19 inflicted "untold misery" on people with lakhs of people forced to walk to their homes hundreds of kilometres away, Moitra alleged.
She demanded that the three new farm laws that have drawn protests from farmers be repealed.