The ruling BJP in Tripura found itself on a sticky wicket on Thursday after a video clip purportedly showing a party MLA watching porn clips inside the Assembly was widely shared on social media.

In the video clip, a person resembling Jadab Lal Debnath, 55, a first-time MLA from Bagbassa in North Tripura district, is seen scrolling smut clips on his cellphone inside the House.

The incident prompted the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Animesh Debbarma, to call a media conference in Agartala on Thursday afternoon to seek action against the BJP MLA for allegedly bringing disrepute to the “sacred” House.

Debbarma, a Tipra Motha MLA, told The Telegraph: “In a civilised world, what message will go out if action is not taken against him? In India, watching porn is not allowed in the open, and he watched porn inside the Assembly, a sacred place for lawmakers. And what is his job? To raise the issues of the people of his constituency. He did not utter a single word during the session but was watching porn.”

State Congress general secretary and spokesperson Prasanta Bhattacharjeecondemned the “shamefulincident” that occurred inside the “holy” Assembly premises and demanded “disciplinary action as per law” againstthe BJP MLA.

The state BJP unit responded by issuing a showcause notice to Debnath.“The party has asked him to clarify his position within three days,” state BJP media in-charge Sunit Sarkar said.

Neither Debnath nor the Assembly Speaker responded to calls and texts for their reaction.

Debbarma of the Tipra Motha said: “The Speaker should disqualify him so that he cannot contest for six years. Moreover, when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi can be disqualified from the Lok Sabha for a speech he had made during an election rally, outside the House... this (Debnath incident) has happened inside the House. The law should be applied equally.”