West Bengal Assembly: LoP among 6 BJP MLAs suspended over Sandeshkhali protest
Suvendu says their fight for honour of Sandeshkhali women to continue
3 min read
“We are proud and we are happy,” Suvendu Adhikari declared. (PTI Photo)Six BJP MLAs, including Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, were suspended from the West Bengal Assembly on Monday for the rest of the Budget session as they demanded a statement from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the Sandeshkhali protests.
Protests erupted in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district last week over alleged land grabbing as villagers demanded the arrest of local TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh and his aides. Sheikh has been absconding since January 5 following the attack on ED officials during a search at the TMC leader’s residence in Sandeshkhali in its probe into alleged irregularities in the public distribution system.
On Monday, when the Assembly convened, BJP legislators entered the House wearing T-shirts with ‘We are with Sandeshkhali’ printed on them. While the Opposition BJP demanded a statement from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the ongoing protest by villagers in Sandeshkhali, Speaker Biman Banerjee requested Adhikari and BJP MLAs to remove their T-shirts. However, BJP MLAs refused, contending there were no offensive words written on their T-shirts. The BJP MLAs then rushed into the Well of the House and squatted there, raising slogans and blowing whistles.
TMC Deputy Chief Whip Nirmal Ghosh then urged the Speaker to suspend all the BJP MLAs, but Banerjee did not accept the ruling party’s request and instead announced the suspension of six BJP MLAs – Suvendu Adhikari, Mihir Goswami, Shankar Ghosh, Tapasi Mondol, Agnimitra Paul and Bankim Ghosh — for the rest of the Budget session.
Walking out of the House, Adhikari said: “We are proud (of the suspension) and are happy… Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who holds the Home Department portfolio, does not come to the Assembly. Till date, she has not responded to any queries of the BJP MLAs from the Home Department. She did not even answer questions about Sandeshkhali in the Assembly. We have been suspended for asking questions… To save the honour of Sandeshkhali’s mother and sisters, we will not be afraid. We will fight.”
TMC MLA Shovandev Chattopadhyay justified the Speaker’s decision to suspend the BJP MLAs, saying they were creating chaos in the House. “At the beginning, the Speaker asked the Opposition MLAs to remove their T-shirts carrying political slogans. But they did not adhere to the Speaker’s request. They (BJP MLAs) started chanting. They started tearing paper. The Speaker repeatedly requested the Leader of the Opposition to stop the chaos. But he did not,” the TMC leader said.
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