Army in TMC’s crosshairs, chaos descends upon Bengal Assembly, LoP suspended again

Terming the Army’s action “politically motivated”, Basu said:

“Our chief minister (Mamata Banerjee) rushed to the site when the Army pulled down our podium meant to protest attacks on Bengali-speaking migrants in BJP-ruled states. When the Army dismantled our stage yesterday, it reminded me of the firing by the Pakistani Army in Dhaka on March 25, 1971. It also reminded me of the sacrifices made by people who laid down their lives to protect our language and identity.”

His comments triggered an uproar from the BJP benches, with Adhikari accusing the government of “defaming the Army”.

“This government is maligning a proud national institution just to score political points,” he said, demanding the remarks be expunged.

The BJP MLAs started chanting slogans, demanding an apology and condemnation of the minister’s remarks.

The situation worsened after Basu said that former RSS chief MS Golwalkar and former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had agreed on forming states based on language after Independence.

According to Basu, while Nehru advocated for an Indian identity, Golwalkar promoted Hindutva.

Adhikari challenged Basu to provide documentary evidence for his statements, to which Basu agreed.

As BJP MLAs intensified their protest and the Leader of Opposition ignored repeated warnings to restore order, Speaker Biman Banerjee suspended Adhikari from the House, triggering a walkout by BJP legislators.

“I am forced to suspend you for repeatedly interrupting the proceedings of the House and leaving your seat,” the Speaker declared, amid loud desk-thumping from TMC legislators.

Outside the Assembly, Adhikari said, “I was suspended because I protested against Basu’s defamatory remarks against the Indian Army. We want those remarks to be expunged. How can a minister compare the Indian army with that of the Pakistani army? The TMC and its leaders have proved that they are agents of Pakistan… I am proud that I have been suspended for protesting against attempts to defame the country.”

Meanwhile, inside the House, Basu resumed his speech, accusing the BJP of trying to impose a “one country, one language, one religion diktat” on the nation.

“They are scared of the Bengali language. They get infuriated even hearing the name of our chief minister, who represents 12 crore Bengalis. In Assam, 12 lakh people are languishing in detention camps, and out of them, 7 lakh are Bengali-speaking, including 5 lakh Muslims,” Basu said, accusing the BJP of “tarnishing the glory of Bengal.”

Earlier in the day, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay tabled the motion under Rule 169, and cited recent incidents, including the alleged torture of a migrant worker in BJP-ruled states, to highlight the “persecution faced by Bengalis” outside Bengal.

The TMC defended the motion, saying it was necessary to highlight the alleged “systematic harassment” of Bengali-speaking migrants in BJP-ruled states and that Basu’s comments were being “twisted for political gains.”

During the debate on the motion, BJP chief whip Shankar Ghosh alleged that the motion had been brought “purely for political reasons.” “A double-engine government in West Bengal will ensure the true supremacy of the Bengali language,” he said.

In response, senior TMC minister Firhad Hakim said the BJP was “still nursing false hopes.” Defending Bengal’s linguistic and cultural heritage, he asserted, “Our Bengali language has its roots in Sanskrit. Today, 291 million people speak Bengali. It is the seventh most spoken language in the world. Language cannot be imprisoned. There were no attacks on Bengalis in Delhi or Odisha when non-BJP governments were in power. It is only the BJP and the RSS who are propagating the politics of hatred. They even worked against the country during British rule. And today, if we speak in Bengali, we are labelled Bangladeshis?!” The clash over migrants and the Army has added a fresh flashpoint to the bitter TMC-BJP rivalry, with the ruling party accusing the saffron camp of remaining silent on “attacks against Bengalis” and the opposition charging the state government with dragging the Army into partisan politics.

The Special Session, which began on Monday, will end on Thursday. There would be a break on September 3, which is a state holiday on account of Karam Puja.

(With PTI inputs)