As the second leg of the Budget Session began on Monday, the West Bengal Assembly witnessed chaotic scenes as opposition BJP MLAs protested over Speaker Biman Banerjee’s decision to suspend party MLA Dipak Barman for the rest of the session and ordered marshals to evict two Opposition legislators — Manoj Oraon and Shankar Ghosh — from the House. The BJP MLAs later staged a walkout in protest against the “biased approach” of the Speaker.

It began during the Budget debate when BJP MLA Hiran Chatterjee claimed that the West Bengal Right to Service Act Commission was defunct with its office remaining locked for a long period. The Speaker then asked him to stop, but Chatterjee continued. The Speaker then asked for Chatterjee’s microphone to be muted and announced the name of a TMC MLA to deliver the speech.

After this, BJP MLAs — Manoj Oraon and Shankar Ghosh – rushed to the Well of the House and started raising slogans against the Speaker. Banerjee then ordered the marshals to escort them out of the Assembly. As another BJP MLA, Dipak Barman, allegedly threw paper, the Speaker ordered his suspended for the rest of the session.

Following this, BJP MLAs walked out of the Assembly.

“We are here to uphold people’s demands and identify the government’s corruption. But the government doesn’t want that. Naturally, they suspended us. Earlier, (Leader of Opposition) Suvendu Adhikari and some other MLAs were also suspended. Is this democracy?” said MLA Shankar Ghosh.

Adhikari said, “The gundagiri TMC used to do outside, they did that inside the Assembly on Monday. This is not acceptable… It is unprecedented. The Speaker also humiliated Rajbangshi MLA Dipak Barman. People of North Bengal will give befitting reply for this to the TMC.”

Later, the BJP announced that it would hold a rally in Baruipur on March 19 in protest against the “suppression” of its MLAs’ voices in the Assembly.

Speaker Biman Banerjee represents Baruipur.

“Today, the Speaker did not allow our legislator Hiran Chatterjee to speak when he criticised the state government. Earlier, he suspended me and three others from the House for highlighting the deteriorating law and order situation under Mamata Banerjee’s rule. He is acting at the behest of his party supremo,” Adhikari told reporters near the Assembly gate.

He further said the BJP would wait until the completion of higher secondary examinations on March 18 before staging the protest on March 19.

Reacting to BJP’s move, the Speaker said, “They are welcome to hold protests against me in my constituency, but I wonder where they will get the people from.” “I guess they will bring people from Nandigram,” referring to Adhikari’s constituency. —With PTI