Bengal BJP MLAs stage protest after Speaker refuses to include RG Kar victim in 'obituary mention'

Kolkata : BJP MLAs led by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Monday staged a silent protest march within the premises of the Bengal Assembly after Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay refused to include the junior doctor who was raped and murdered at the R.G Kar Medical College and Hospital last month in the 'obituary mention' on day one of the two-day special session of the House.

On Monday, a condolence message was read out as part of the 'obituary mention' in memory of former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee who passed away on August 8.

Thereafter, Adhikari requested the Assembly Speaker to include a reference to the rape and murder victim in the list.

The Speaker refused to accept the proposal on the ground that naming a rape and murder victim in the 'obituary mention' involved legal hassles.

Adhikari then requested the Speaker to include the deceased's name as 'Victim at RG Kar on August 9'.

However, the Speaker refused to accept this proposal as well and adjourned the House for the day at the end of the 'obituary mention'.

After the Assembly was adjourned, Trinamool Congress legislators left the House but the BJP MLAs stayed back in their seats as a mark of protest.

Later, Adhikari brought a motion expressing condolence without naming the victim as a token protest, following which the BJP legislators left the House and carried out a silent protest march within the Assembly premises with candles.

"There have been examples where mentions were made about people without taking names, especially in cases when people died of natural calamities or accidents," Adhikari said.

Bengal's Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, however, rubbished Adhikari's logic.

"A rape and murder victim cannot be named in an obituary mention. Since the victim cannot be named, her mention cannot be made in the obituary. There had been no such precedence," Chattopadhyay said.