Legislators engage in fisticuffs in Bengal Assembly over Birbhum killings 5 BJP MLAs suspended
Kolkata Mar 28 PTI The West Bengal assembly plunged into chaos on Monday as legislators of the TMC and the BJP came to blows after heated arguments over the Birbhum killings prompting the Speaker to suspend five saffron party MLAs including Leader of Opposition Suvendu AdhikariThe last day of the budget session ended in a shocking display of political animosity as MLAs of both sides engaged in fisticuffs leading to the hospitalisation of some of the legislatorsShortly after the House assembled at 11 am BJP MLAs trooped to the well demanding a statement by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the worsening law and order situation in the wake of the carnage in Birbhum district where eight people were burnt to death last weekSpeaker Biman Banerjee tried to pacify the BJP MLAs who continued with sloganeering inside the House leading to a war of words with legislators of the treasury bench and an eventual ugly scuffle Adhikari then walked out of the assembly claiming that TMC MLAs roughed up party legislators MLAs are not safe even inside the assembly At least 8-10 of our legislators including Chief Whip Manoj Tigga were beaten up by some TMC MLAs as we demanded that the CM make a statement in the House on the law and order issue Adhikari said Senior TMC leader and minister Firhad Hakim claimed that the BJP is staging a drama to create chaos in the assembly A few of our MLAs were injured inside the House We condemn the conduct of the BJP he said Among those who were injured in the melee were TMC MLA Asit Majumdar and BJP chief whip Manoj Tigga both of whom were taken to hospital Majumdar claimed that Adhikari had punched him on the nose a charge denied by the BJP leader The saffron party legislators are faking injuries to hide their misdeeds Hakim allegedThe BJP claimed that Tigga has suffered a fracture on his chest and was admitted to a private hospital along with six other BJP MLAsAdhikari along with BJP legislators Dipak Burman Shankar Ghosh Manoj Tigga and Narahari Mahato were suspended by the Speaker for the entire session till the House is prorogued Prorogation is discontinuing a session of Parliament or a Legislative Assembly without dissolving it What happened today is completely unacceptable How the five MLAs behaved with the women staff of the House is a shame for parliamentary democracy the Speaker told reportersBanerjee also said that the extent of damage to articles within the assembly hall in the scuffle would be assessed and appropriate action taken Earlier this month two BJP MLAs Sudip Mukhopadhyay and Mihir Goswami were suspended from the ongoing state Budget session for creating disturbances in the House during Governor Jagdeep Dhankhars speech on March 7 Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee said BJP leaders tried to create disturbance inside and outside the House Though the session ended today they will continue with their disruptive politics I urge everyone to be on guard to foil the game plan of the BJP They are demanding the CMs statement but when she speaks in the House they create disturbance in the House Chatterjee saidLater speaking to reporters in Darjeeling Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declined to comment on the incident saying matters related to the assembly is the Speakers prerogativeThe BJP however denied all allegations and accused the ruling TMC of letting loose a reign of terror in the assembly They are running the government in an authoritarian manner We will not tolerate this Adhikari said adding he would meet the Speaker with an appeal to revoke the suspensionBJP state president Sukanta Majumdar alleged in a press conference that the attack on the party MLAs the Assembly was pre-planned and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is behind thisThat is the reason she chose not to attend the last day of the budget session and instead travelled to north Bengal he claimedHe said the party will organise protest rallies across the state from TuesdayLater in the evening the entire top brass of the state BJP unit hit the streets and took out a rally in central Kolkata protesting against the assault on its MLAsThe Speaker is acting in the most partisan manner He is a shame for parliamentary democracy We have decided to shift some of our injured MLAs to AIIMS for better treatment as the state government is pressuring the private hospital to release them Sukanta Majumdar saidHe said the BJP MLAs would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this week in New Delhi and complain about the lawlessness in the stateThe incident brought back memories of opposition Left and ruling TMC legislators trading blows in December 2012 on the floor of the house leading to injuries on both sides PTI SUS PNT NN NN
Kolkata Mar 28 PTI The West Bengal assembly plunged into chaos on Monday as legislators of the TMC and the BJP came to blows after heated arguments over the Birbhum killings prompting the Speaker to suspend five saffron party MLAs including Leader of Opposition Suvendu AdhikariThe last day of the budget session ended in a shocking display of political animosity as MLAs of both sides engaged in fisticuffs leading to the hospitalisation of some of the legislatorsShortly after the House assembled at 11 am BJP MLAs trooped to the well demanding a statement by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the worsening law and order situation in the wake of the carnage in Birbhum district where eight people were burnt to death last weekSpeaker Biman Banerjee tried to pacify the BJP MLAs who continued with sloganeering inside the House leading to a war of words with legislators of the treasury bench and an eventual ugly scuffle Adhikari then walked out of the assembly claiming that TMC MLAs roughed up party legislators MLAs are not safe even inside the assembly At least 8-10 of our legislators including Chief Whip Manoj Tigga were beaten up by some TMC MLAs as we demanded that the CM make a statement in the House on the law and order issue Adhikari said Senior TMC leader and minister Firhad Hakim claimed that the BJP is staging a drama to create chaos in the assembly A few of our MLAs were injured inside the House We condemn the conduct of the BJP he said Among those who were injured in the melee were TMC MLA Asit Majumdar and BJP chief whip Manoj Tigga both of whom were taken to hospital Majumdar claimed that Adhikari had punched him on the nose a charge denied by the BJP leader The saffron party legislators are faking injuries to hide their misdeeds Hakim allegedThe BJP claimed that Tigga has suffered a fracture on his chest and was admitted to a private hospital along with six other BJP MLAsAdhikari along with BJP legislators Dipak Burman Shankar Ghosh Manoj Tigga and Narahari Mahato were suspended by the Speaker for the entire session till the House is prorogued Prorogation is discontinuing a session of Parliament or a Legislative Assembly without dissolving it What happened today is completely unacceptable How the five MLAs behaved with the women staff of the House is a shame for parliamentary democracy the Speaker told reportersBanerjee also said that the extent of damage to articles within the assembly hall in the scuffle would be assessed and appropriate action taken Earlier this month two BJP MLAs Sudip Mukhopadhyay and Mihir Goswami were suspended from the ongoing state Budget session for creating disturbances in the House during Governor Jagdeep Dhankhars speech on March 7 Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee said BJP leaders tried to create disturbance inside and outside the House Though the session ended today they will continue with their disruptive politics I urge everyone to be on guard to foil the game plan of the BJP They are demanding the CMs statement but when she speaks in the House they create disturbance in the House Chatterjee saidLater speaking to reporters in Darjeeling Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declined to comment on the incident saying matters related to the assembly is the Speakers prerogativeThe BJP however denied all allegations and accused the ruling TMC of letting loose a reign of terror in the assembly They are running the government in an authoritarian manner We will not tolerate this Adhikari said adding he would meet the Speaker with an appeal to revoke the suspensionBJP state president Sukanta Majumdar alleged in a press conference that the attack on the party MLAs the Assembly was pre-planned and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is behind thisThat is the reason she chose not to attend the last day of the budget session and instead travelled to north Bengal he claimedHe said the party will organise protest rallies across the state from TuesdayLater in the evening the entire top brass of the state BJP unit hit the streets and took out a rally in central Kolkata protesting against the assault on its MLAsThe Speaker is acting in the most partisan manner He is a shame for parliamentary democracy We have decided to shift some of our injured MLAs to AIIMS for better treatment as the state government is pressuring the private hospital to release them Sukanta Majumdar saidHe said the BJP MLAs would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this week in New Delhi and complain about the lawlessness in the stateThe incident brought back memories of opposition Left and ruling TMC legislators trading blows in December 2012 on the floor of the house leading to injuries on both sides PTI SUS PNT NN NN
