Kolkata: Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, along with three other BJP MLAs—Agnimitra Pal, Bankim Ghosh, and Vishwanath Karak—has been suspended from the West Bengal Assembly for 30 days. The incident occurred after the BJP submitted an adjournment motion on Monday, seeking a discussion on the situation surrounding Saraswati Puja in Bengal.
Speaker Biman Banerjee allowed the motion to be read, with Agnimitra Pal reading it out. However, the Speaker rejected the request for further discussion, leading to protests from BJP MLAs. Adhikari led the protest, shouting slogans and proceeding to tear and throw the motion paper at the Speaker’s chair. Subsequently, the BJP MLAs walked out of the session. Speaker Biman Banerjee condemned the behaviour, saying, “The behavior you are displaying is inappropriate. I condemn it.” In response, he decided to suspend the four BJP MLAs for 30 days.
MLAs protest Speaker’s decision
Pal later told reporters outside the assembly that in certain areas of the state, including a law college in Kolkata, Saraswati Puja had to be held with police protection, following orders from the Calcutta High Court. She said that the BJP MLAs staged a walkout in protest of the Speaker’s refusal to allow a discussion on the adjournment motion introduced by her and other party legislators.
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Although the Speaker disallowed the discussion, one BJP MLA was permitted to read out the motion. After the reading of the motion by Pal, BJP MLAs began protesting, raising slogans, and holding placards, accusing the ruling TMC of appeasement for electoral advantages. Trinamool Congress chief whip Nirmal Ghosh presented a motion in the House, condemning the BJP MLAs’ protest as contrary to legislative norms and calling for disciplinary action against them.
Sit-in protest planned
The suspended MLAs will stage a sit-in protest in front of the Assembly starting tomorrow, demanding action against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The MLAs has decided that the protest will continue until the suspension is lifted and the Assembly session concludes.
