Derek O'Brien is an Indian politician, television personality, quizmaster, and author.[2][3][4][5] He has been elected three times as Member of Parliament to the Rajya Sabha. He represents Bengal in Parliament and serves as the Parliamentary Party Leader of the third largest party in Parliament, the All India Trinamool Congress.[6][7][8]
In 2012, he represented India and addressed the United Nations General Assembly. He was awarded ‘Parliamentarian Of The Year’ in 2023.
He has addressed students at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, IIMs, IITs and various other premier institutions across India and globally.
For three years in a row he was conferred the Anchor of the Year award by the Indian Television Academy and hosted iconic shows like the much loved Bournvita Quiz Contest.[9]
He is a celebrated author, having authored more than fifty bestselling reference, quiz, and school textbooks.
He is the first and only Anglo-Indian to be elected to Parliament. He fights courageously and consistently for the protection of rights of the economically and socially challenged.
He has raised issues of grave concern and vital importance, relentlessly and fearlessly, inside Parliament and outside it.
Personal background
O'Brien, whose mother tongue is English, is based in Kolkata and speaks, reads and writes equally fluently in Bengali.
He is married to Tonuca Basu, who is practising medicine in Brooklyn, New York. He was earlier married to Rila Banerjee[12] and the couple has a daughter, Aanya.[13]
Professional and quizzing career
O'Brien's first job was as a journalist at Sportsworld magazine. After a short stint there, he joined the advertising agencyOgilvy in 1984 and became its Creative Head for Kolkata and Delhi. Simultaneously, he embarked on a career as a quizmaster and quiz show host, having been introduced to quizzing by his father, Neil O'Brien, who had conducted the first open quiz in India in 1967.[14][15][16] In 1988, O'Brien hosted his first all-India quizzes as a professional quizmaster: the Bata North Star Quiz and the Maggi Quiz for Schools. In 1990, he joined hands with Economic Times for the Brand Equity Quiz for business corporations. In 1991, he finally quit Ogilvy and set up his own knowledge, education and publishing company, Big Ideas – since renamed Derek O'Brien and Associates.[17][18][19][20][21][22]
He has served as president of the Dalhousie Institute Club.[34]
O'Brien is an important voice in the Christian community in India, engaging in meaningful dialogue on key issues of faith, rights, and justice. He initiated the “Speak Up” series with noted social activist Father Cedric Prakash, creating a platform for constructive conversations on pressing concerns of the community. Over the years, he has shared the stage with distinguished dignitaries including Rev. Dr. Arturo Sosa SJ, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Rome, Archbishop Emeritus Thomas D’Souza, Archbishop of Kolkata, Father Thomas Macwan, Archbishop of Gandhinagar, and Father Peter Machado, Archbishop of Bangalore, among others. Derek has consistently raised his voice in Parliament and across public forums, holding the government accountable on minority rights and strongly condemning excesses against the Christian community.
Political career
O'Brien joined the Trinamool Congress in 2004, when the party was still in opposition in West Bengal.[35] He later wrote that he was drawn to the charisma and personality of the Trinamool Congress leader (now chief minister of Bengal) Mamata Banerjee, and felt she was the only one who could defeat the then CPI(M)-led government in the state.[36][37]
Spokesperson for the Trinamool Congress
In 2015, O'Brien was appointed as the Chief National Spokesperson for the Trinamool Congress[38] and was identified as the rare white-collar, English-speaking politician in the party.[39] He came to national media attention during Mamata Banerjee's protest against the CPI(M) government's land acquisition attempt in Singur (2006) and then in the run-up to the 2009 Lok Sabha election, in which Trinamool Congress handed the CPI(M) its first defeat in West Bengal since 1977.[36][37] He pioneered his party's social media outreach.[40][41]
O'Brien is frequently seen on news television shows and is a regular commentator on political and policy issues.[42][43] He writes a fortnightly column for NDTV[44] and Indian Express. His articles have also appeared in Times of India,[45]Hindustan Times, and other major publications.
In 2011, following the Trinamool Congress victory in the West Bengal assembly election, O'Brien was sent to the Rajya Sabha.[46][47]
First term in Rajya Sabha
He was sworn in as Member of Parliament on 19 August 2011 [48] and is one of 16 MPs elected to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal.[49] In 2012, Trinamool Congress named him as its Chief Whip in the Rajya Sabha.[50]
In 2012, O'Brien cast a vote in the presidential election to elect the 13th President of India. His vote is believed to be the first presidential vote cast by an elected member of the Anglo-Indian community—as members of the community have previously been nominated to the Lok Sabha and other assemblies and are not eligible to vote.[51]
He was the Chairman of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism, and Culture from September 1, 2017, to September 12, 2019. Presently, he serves as a member of the following key parliamentary committees: the General Purposes Committee, the Business Advisory Committee, the Ethics Committee, the Transport, Tourism and Culture Committee, and the Human Resource Development Committee.[53][54] He served on the Railway Convention Committee [55][37] and has also been a member of parliamentary select (specific issue) committees [56] on the Goods and Services Tax Constitutional Amendment Bill,[57] the Insurance Bill,[58] the Land Acquisition Bill,[59] the Citizenship Act Amendment Bill.[60] He has spoken in Parliament on a range of issues, from demonetisation,[61] to net neutrality,[62][63]Jammu and Kashmir,[64]railways[65] and juvenile justice,[66] and participated in the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President of India's address to Parliament.[67]
Second term in Rajya Sabha
His second term as an MP of the Rajya Sabha began on 19 August 2017[68] and ended on 18 August 2023.[69]
On 20 September 2020, when the Farm Reform Bill was placed in the Rajya Sabha for passage,[70] Derek O'Brien protested, and along with other members allegedly heckled the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya SabhaHarivansh Narayan Singh. Media verifiable sources mention that the House was in complete chaos and unrest to protest the bill.[71] This chaos led to the 10-minute suspension of the House.[71][72]Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs sought his suspension, along with some other members, as a consequence for his actions under rule 256 of procedure and conduct of business. He along with eight other MPs were suspended for one week on account of their unruly and unparliamentary behaviour.[73]
Parliamentary Committees
He was a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs.[74] On 6 January 2022 he wrote to Anand Sharma, head of the committee, to discuss the alleged app "Tek Fog" that "has serious ramifications and could jeopardise national security.". He wrote, "This application is capable of penetrating encrypted messaging platforms and secure social media conversations in order to heavily manipulate and exploit narratives on said platforms."[75][76]
Third term in Rajya Sabha
His third term as an MP of the Rajya Sabha began on 19 August 2023 and will end on 18 August 2029. He has spoken on multiple issues of national importance, ranging from unemployment, Manipur violence, and GST on health insurance, to farmer welfare, and economic inequality in India.
O'Brien participated in the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President of India's address to Parliament, the Women's Reservation Bill, the economic situation in the country, death of students in a coaching centre in Delhi, and the special discussion on the 75th anniversary of adoption of the Constitution of India. He also initiated the discussion on the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
He has asked impactful questions on vacancies in the paramilitary forces, railways and aviation sector, increasing number of loan frauds, stopping of funds to Opposition-ruled states, and student and farmer suicides, among others.
Parliamentary Committees
He is a member of the Committee on Home Affairs, Committee on Ethics, and the Business Advisory Committee. He has repeatedly raised the issue of violence in Manipur and the path to peace in Home Affairs Committee meetings.
Author
O'Brien is also a celebrated author. His books include the bestseller Inside Parliament: Views for the Front Row, Who Cares About Parliament, Derek Introduces the Constitution and Parliament of India, My Way, a motivational book, Speak Up Speak Out, a compilation of elocution pieces, and several reference, quiz, and text books.[77][78][79][80]
↑ O'Brien, Derek (1 January 2013). Speak Up, Speak Out: My Favorite Elocution Pieces and How to Deliver Them. Place of publication not identified: Red Turtle. ISBN9788129121158.
↑ O'Brien, Derek (3 May 2015). Derek Introduces the Constitution and Parliament of India (Firsted.). New Delhi: Rupa Publications India. ISBN9788129136558.
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