Ruckus in Bengal Assembly over motion to discuss violence; BJP walks out

Kolkata: There was ruckus in the West Bengal Assembly on Wednesday over a motion moved by BJP MLAs seeking a discussion on the law and order situation in West Bengal.

The BJP especially wanted to discuss the cases of mob violence and instances of recent Kangaroo Court assaults.

The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari sought a statement from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee but she was not present in the House.

LoP Adhikari requested the Treasury Benches to give anyone else the responsibility of carrying forward the discussion in the matter.

Thereafter BJP legislator Agnimitra Paul read out the resolution.

However, the reply by Minister of State for Finance (Independent Charge) Chandrima Bhattacharya in the matter could not satisfy the BJP MLAs.

Bhattacharya said that the new criminal laws have been introduced to curtail the powers of the state government on law and order issues.

The BJP legislators started raising slogans which was followed by counter-slogans from the Treasury Benches.

Trinamool Congress legislator Tapan Chattopadhyay was allegedly seen dashing towards the LoP, after which the BJP staged a walk out from the House.

The BJP MLAs started protesting in the Assembly lobby shouting slogans and displaying posters. “Tapan Chattopadhyay came to physically assault me. There were several witnesses. The BJP legislators in Bengal get CAPF protection, but their entry is not allowed in the Assembly. So only the Speaker of the House will be responsible if any of us are assaulted,” said Adhikari.

Chattopadhyay, however, denied the charges and accused Adhikari of maligning him and his family members at a public meeting near his residence recently.