Suvendu Adhikari, BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition (LoP) and three other legislators of his party were suspended for 30 days by the Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay on Monday from the ongoing Budget session in the state Assembly because of their alleged unruly behaviour in the House.
The three other suspended MLAs are Agnimitra Pal, Bankim Ghosh and Biswanath Karak. All of the four legislators of the saffron party were suspended till the end of this session in the assembly or for 30 days, whichever is earlier, after they came down to the well of the House, tore up business papers and threw those away.
In protest against the suspension, the LoP while speaking to reporters said that he would deliver his speech outside the gate of the House on Tuesday when the chief minister Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to address the Assembly to counter the Governor C V Ananda Bose’s opening speech before the budget session began last week.
Usually, LoP delivers his speech the same day before the chief minister addresses the House to counter the Governor’s opening speech.
“I am the Leader of Opposition and ignoring today’s session. We walked out of the House after staging protests for 10 minutes when the session was going on there. They have targeted our MLAs who speak well and raise their voices against the government during debates,” Mr Adhikari said.
“I came down to the well of the House but three other MLAs did not. They have also been suspended. I have been suspended four times during the past three-and-a-half years since 2021. We, the BJP MLAs, won’t be there in the House when the chief minister will be there in the House during the session. I will deliver my speeches outside the gate of the House tomorrow at the same time when the chief minister will address,” he added.
The BJP legislators, led by Mr Adhikari, went to the well of the House raising slogans after Mr Bandyopadhyay refused to hold a discussion on an adjournment motion brought by Mrs Pal. The BJP MLAs thereafter staged a walkout from the House.
The adjournment motion was brought by the BJP to highlight alleged intimidation at some places in the state over organising Saraswati Puja earlier this month.
Mrs Pal later told reporters outside the Assembly that Saraswati Puja had to be held at some places in the state with police protection, including a law college in Kolkata with orders from the Calcutta High Court.
She said the walkout by the BJP MLAs was to protest the Speaker’s refusal to a discussion on the adjournment motion brought by her and some other party legislators.
The Speaker, while disallowing the discussion in the House, allowed one BJP MLA to read out the motion.
After Pal read out the motion in the House, the BJP MLAs started protesting, raising slogans and holding placards, claiming appeasement by ruling TMC for electoral gains.
Trinamul Congress chief whip Nirmal Ghosh brought a motion in the House, claiming that the acts of protest by the BJP MLAs were outside legislative culture and demanded action against them.