Derek O’Brien Rips Into Govt for “Empty Noise” in Parliament Session!

Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien has sharply criticized the Union government for prioritizing rhetoric over substance during the recently concluded Monsoon session of Parliament, which ended on August 21, 2025. In a blogpost published on Tuesday, O’Brien invoked the Greek philosopher Plato’s proverb, “empty vessels make the most sound,” to describe the government’s tactics, accusing it of deploying distractions to mask a lack of meaningful responses.

O’Brien highlighted several instances where opposition queries were met with vague or incomplete answers, underscoring what he termed the government’s “lack of substance.” He cited TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee’s question on child laborers, noting the government reported over 3,000 cases registered between 2018 and 2022 but failed to provide current figures. Similarly, Sudama Prasad of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation sought clarity on documents required to prove citizenship, only to receive a response outlining the Citizenship Act, 1955, without mentioning specific documents.

O’Brien also pointed to his own question about India’s robot density compared to the global average and the potential imposition of a robot tax to address job displacement. The government’s reply, he noted, focused on electronics manufacturing while sidestepping job loss concerns entirely.

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The month-long Monsoon session was marked by frequent disruptions and protests, primarily from the Opposition, over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. O’Brien’s critique frames these disruptions as a backdrop to the government’s alleged evasion of accountability. By drawing on Plato’s wisdom, he underscored the TMC’s stance that the government’s loud posturing in Parliament concealed a lack of substantive policy responses, leaving critical national issues unaddressed.

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