Four BJP MLAs, including LoP Suvendu Adhikari, suspended from West Bengal Assembly
Sources said the suspension for 30 days followed a motion raised by the BJP which alleged that Saraswati Puja was “not allowed” in the state, a discussion on which the Speaker did not permit, leading to an “uproar”
Written by Sweety Kumari
Kolkata | Updated: February 17, 2025 01:54 PM IST
2 min read
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Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari expressed dissatisfaction with the move. (Photo: Screengrab from X/@PTI_News)
Four BJP MLAs — Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, Agnimitra Paul, Vishwanath Karak, and Bankim Ghosh — were suspended from the House on Monday.
Sources said the suspension for 30 days followed a motion raised by the BJP which alleged that Saraswati Puja was “not allowed” in the state.
Adhikari expressed strong dissatisfaction with the move, stating, “Useless Speaker… The Chief Minister doesn’t come. She keeps an eye on us whenever we’re not in the house, then she appears. Four times, they have suspended BJP MLAs. (It happened) for five months in 2022, then for one month, then for two months. For a total of eight months, we have been kept out of the House. We are the only opposition. The House belongs to the Opposition. We have won on the Hindus’ vote. We will raise our voices for them. This government is a minority’s government, it is anti-Hindu.”
Women MLAs, led by Agnimitra Paul, had brought an adjournment motion to discuss the “obstruction” of Saraswati Puja. However, when Speaker Biman Banerjee did not allow the matter to be debated, a major uproar ensued, resulting in BJP MLAs walking out of the Assembly.
Banerjee said, “A motion was moved by TMC MLA Nirmal Ghosh, and the way the Opposition leader threw documents on my chair is very condemnable. Ghosh moved a motion that they should be suspended. A vote took place and based on that, it was decided to suspend them for 30 days.”
Suvendu Adhikari further said, “They have intentionally targeted those who participate well in debates and Question and Answer sessions. Agnimitra Paul was protesting from her seat—why has she been suspended?… Since the (Chief Minister) will respond to the Governor’s speech tomorrow, the leader of the Opposition and three other vocal BJP MLAs have been kept out of the house so that the CM can speak without any objection.”
Sweety Kumari reports from West Bengal for The Indian Express. She is a journalist with over a decade of experience in the media industry. Covers Crime, Defence, Health , Politics etc and writes on trending topics.
With a keen eye for investigative and human-interest stories. She has honed her craft across diverse beats including aviation, health, incidents etc. Sweety delivers impactful journalism that informs and engages audiences.
Sweety Kumari is a graduate of Calcutta University with an Honors degree in Journalism from Jaipuria College and a PG in Mass Communication from Jadavpur University. Originally from Bihar, she is brought up in Kolkata and completed her education from Kendriya Vidyalaya SaltLake. Multilingual, Sweety is fluent in English, Hindi, Bengali, and Maithili. She started her career as an Entertainment and lifestyle journalist with a newsportal in Kolkata. She is working with The Indian Express for 8 years now. ... Read More