The Budget session of the West Bengal Assembly concluded on Thursday with BJP MLAs demanding the resignation of Speaker Biman Banerjee and calling him biased.
BJP legislators were protesting over the alleged attack on Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari’s convoy in Baruipur in South 24 Parganas.
As the House assembled on Thursday, the BJP demanded a statement on the alleged attack on Adhikari’s convoy at the Speaker’s constituency of Baruipur on Wednesday. When Speaker Banerjee dismissed the alleged attack as an issue outside the Assembly’s purview, BJP MLAs stormed into the well of the House waving black flags and chanting slogans against the Speaker.
The situation further escalated when BJP Chief Whip Shankar Ghosh said his microphone was muted while he tried to address the House.
Amid the din, the discussion on the Appropriation Bill was taken up. The BJP MLAs also tore documents before walking out of the Assembly. Outside the Assembly, the BJP legislators also burnt an effigy of the Speaker.
The BJP MLAs accused the Speaker and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of “orchestrating” the attack on Adhikari’s convoy, and demanded the immediate suspension of the Baruipur Superintendent of Police.
Speaking to mediapersons, Ghosh questioned the Speaker’s impartiality, claiming he consistently denied BJP MLAs the opportunity to voice their concerns in the Assembly. He further asserted that adjournment motions on matters of public interest were routinely rejected, effectively silencing the Opposition.
Reacting to the BJP’s protests in the House, Speaker Banerjee said this was not the way to seek his resignation. “The Constitution provides how the Speaker will leave his chair, but running down towards the Speaker and shouting (seeking his resignation) – this has never happened,” Banerjee told reporters in his chamber.
State Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya also condemned the BJP’s actions, characterizing the disruption and alleged insult to the Speaker as an affront to the Assembly itself. “I do not want to run the House by ousting Opposition members like in the Lok Sabha,” Bhattacharya said. Regarding the effigy burning, the Speaker said, “I do not know whether by doing this they were wishing for my long life or something else.”
He reiterated his desire for the Opposition to participate in Assembly discussions, emphasizing the clarity of the House rules. He further stated that the BJP’s absence from the house shows they are invisible, and their only motive is to create ruckus to get publicity.