For the second consecutive day, the BJP MLAs staged a walkout from the West Bengal Assembly on Tuesday during the ongoing second phase of the budget session. The BJP brought a motion of adjournment, citing allegations of communal unrest in the state. However, Speaker Biman Banerjee did not accept the proposal.
He stated that the matter had already been discussed. The rejection of their motion led to a heated situation, during which BJP legislators started sloganeering and tore up the assembly proceedings' documents.
Following this, Speaker Banerjee ordered that no documents be provided to BJP legislators in the assembly session starting Tuesday. In response, the BJP lawmakers walked out in protest.
Notably, during Monday's assembly session, BJP legislators Shankar Ghosh and Manoj Oraon protested by descending into the well of the house after their colleague Hiran Chattopadhyay’s microphone was switched off.
They persisted in their protest, disregarding the Speaker's instructions to return to their seats. In response, Speaker Banerjee ordered their removal from the chamber. Protesting the expulsion of his two colleagues, Falakata BJP MLA Deepak Barman tore up the assembly proceedings' documents, leading to his suspension for a day. He became the fifth BJP legislator to be suspended this session.
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“I don’t feel that such a situation has ever occurred in the assembly. They did the same thing yesterday. I thought today they would restrain. But they not only tore up the papers but made very distasteful gestures,” the Speaker told the media on Tuesday.
“Maintaining discipline in the house is not just my responsibility but a collective duty. Everyone must recognise and uphold the dignity of the house," he added.
West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who was suspended for 30 days from the assembly earlier in February this year, claimed that the state government under the Trinamool Congress (TMC) did not want the BJP MLAs to speak on record about the communal atrocities against Hindus in the state.
“[What the speaker did] is illegal. This is an attempt to silence the voice of the people of West Bengal," LoP Adhikari told the media outside the assembly. He warned of large-scale demonstrations on Wednesday and added that the BJP would also stage a protest in Baruipur, the constituency of Speaker Banerjee.
"The Speaker has ordered that opposition legislators will not be given any bulletin or proceedings documents. This is one of the rarest incidents in the history of the Indian Constitution," the leader of the opposition said.
Adhikari also warned of large-scale demonstrations tomorrow. "We will bring a stack of papers every day and, if necessary, tear them in protest inside the assembly."
