The Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, was on Tuesday suspended from the winter session of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly for making “objectionable remarks” against Speaker Biman Banerjee.
This is the second time the BJP MLA from Nandigram has been suspended from the House since he became the Leader of the Opposition. On Tuesday, the Assembly was debating a resolution under Rule 169 on the subject “How the Constitution of the country is under threat”, when the Speaker gave directions that certain portions of the speech by BJP MLA Sankar Ghosh be expunged.
The Siliguri BJP MLA had questioned how BJP MLAs who had defected to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) could still occupy their posts without resigning as MLAs. Mr. Adhikari raised objections to the Speaker expunging portions of the speech by the BJP MLA, and descended to the Well of the House with several BJP MLAs.
BJP MLAs raised slogans against the Speaker and walked out from the House. Later, TMC MLA Tapas Ray brought a motion against Mr. Adhikari and demanded his suspension from the House. The Speaker gave his consent and the Leader of the Opposition was suspended for the ongoing winter session.
BJP legislators walked out of the House in protest against the suspension. “We made noise inside the House and said that the House is not following Constitutional norms,” Mr. Adhikari said.
Later in the day, a group of BJP legislators submitted the notice for a ‘no confidence motion’ against the Speaker. BJP MLA Agnimitra Pal said Opposition MLAs had no faith in the Speaker.
Prior to this, on March 28, 2022 Mr. Adhikari and a few other BJP MLAs were suspended when they came to blows with TMC legislators. The Speaker revoked that suspension in June 2022.
There were protests in the State Assembly by both the legislators of the BJP and the TMC.
MLAs of the TMC held protests near the statue of B.R. Ambedkar against the Centre’s delay in releasing Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) wages. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had directed party MLAs to hold protests from November 28 to 30.
BJP legislators had earlier in the day walked out of the House in protest when an adjournment motion by them was not allowed.
