Baruipur protest: BJP MLAs walk out of assembly, burn Speaker’s effigy
Times of India | 21 March 2025
Kolkata: BJP MLAs on Thursday staged a walkout waving black flags and even burnt speaker Biman Banerjee's effigy outside the Bengal assembly after he rejected their demand for a discussion on the alleged attack on state leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari in Baruipur.
Banerjee said the BJP lawmakers were "perhaps trying to make him famous" by burning his effigy. But even during the protests, the party's Chakdah MLA, Bankim Chandra Ghosh, said repeated walkouts and not speaking for people (in the assembly) was "perhaps not the right thing to do".
As BJP tried to make the most of the Baruipur incident in the assembly and outside, Ghosh said: "In my opinion, by staging walkouts and remaining absent during the health and education budget was perhaps not the right thing to do. We should not repeatedly fall into the trap laid out (and stage a walkout). I think we should impress upon the opposition leader that we be allowed to speak in this remaining budget session and whatever opportunity we get before the 2026 assembly polls."
Bengal BJP has been staging walkouts for most of the budget session citing multiple issues.
On Wednesday, Adhikari and other BJP MLAs wanted to hold a protest meeting in Baruipur, the speaker's assembly constituency. BJP members alleged that they faced resistance and their convoy was attacked and obstructed by Trinamool's women's wing.
The saffron party claimed those gathered at the spot were armed with sticks, iron rods, bamboos, stones and bottles containing chili powder. Adhikari said he and his team were saved only because their car windows were rolled up.
On Thursday, as soon as the session began, BJP chief whip Shankar Ghosh and others raised the issue, demanding a discussion. Banerjee dismissed the demand, saying that the incident occurred outside the assembly's jurisdiction.
This triggered an uproar, with opposition members resorting to slogan-shouting. As the ruckus intensified, BJP MLAs raised slogans like "vacate the chair, speaker" while TMC legislators countered them. Within 37 minutes, BJP members staged a walkout and gathered outside the assembly's Gate No. 2, where they continued their protest by waving black flags. Some MLAs sat down in protest, tearing papers and further intensifying the agitation.
In a symbolic act of defiance, the protesting legislators set fire to an effigy of the Speaker, alleging that Banerjee was biased and suppressing the voices of the opposition.
Banerjee dismissed the claims, saying: "The opposition MLAs don't seem to understand how a speaker is chosen. A speaker cannot be removed in this manner. Perhaps they want to make me famous, which is why they burned my effigy."
The agitation was not limited to the assembly. BJP workers and supporters staged road blockades across Kolkata and various parts of the state in protest against the Baruipur incident.