Several MLAs were injured in a scuffle between members of the Trinamul Congress and the BJP in the Bengal Assembly on Monday, following which Speaker Biman Banerjee suspended five BJP legislators, including Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari, for the rest of the session.
The scuffle left Trinamul’s Chinsurah MLA, Asit Majumdar, with an injury to the nose. The BJP alleged that its chief whip Manoj Tigga had suffered an injury in the rib cage. Several other MLA, on both the sides, were also injured.
While Majumdar has been admitted to the SSKM hospital, Tigga was taken to a private hospital, along with six other BJP MLAs. The BJP legislators were later released. BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar accused police of forcing doctors at the private hospital to release Tigga, who will be taken to New Delhi on Tuesday for treatment.
Shortly after the Assembly started on Monday, a heated argument broke out between treasury and Opposition benches when the BJP demanded a discussion on the allegedly deteriorating law and order in the state. According to BJP MLAs, the Speaker kept rejecting their demand, which led to agitation by Opposition legislators who started to leave their seats and move towards the Speaker’s podium. At this point, the security staff tried to block the way of the MLAs and a scuffle ensued. The BJP MLAs alleged that the security personnel were joined by a few Trinamul legislators who allegedly assaulted them.
“It was started by the security personnel. Then around 20 to 25 people, especially goons like Saokat Mollah and Rahim Boxi, who are wanted in cases of post-poll violence, came down from their seats and assaulted our MLAs. Around eight to 10 MLAs have been injured, two of them are critical,” Adhikari said after he led his colleagues to walk out of the Assembly. Both Mollah and Boxi are Trinamul legislators.
Adhikari alleged police personnel who were present in the House in civil dress had assaulted the BJP members.
Speaking to journalists on his way to the hospital, Trinamul MLA Asit Majumdar said he had been punched in the face by Adhikari, a charge the Opposition leader rejected.
“Adhikari did not hit Asit Majumdar. In the melee, he fell down on the floor and hurt himself,” said a BJP MLA.
Asit, however, stuck to his claim and said Adhikari had punched him when he was urging the BJP MLAs to desist from attacking women MLAs of the ruling party. Both the parties alleged that their women representatives had been manhandled, attacked and assaulted by their rivals.
Condemning the incident, parliamentary affairs minister Partha Chatterjee said: “It is clear that the incident had been conspired and was a pre-meditated action. The leader of the Opposition instigated the incident,” said.
Following the incident, the BJP walked out of the Assembly and staged a protest on the portico of the House.
After the BJP MLAs walked out, minister Firhad Hakim brought a motion to suspend four BJP MLAs — Adhikari, Tigga, Shankar Ghosh and Dipak Burman — from the House. Three Trinamul MLAs — Chandrima Bhattacharya, Nirmal Ghosh and Udayan Guha — spoke in favour of the motion. Guha, in his speech, said BJP MLA Narahari Mahato’s name should be added to the list. The motion was passed in voice vote and the five MLAs were suspended for the rest of the session.
Sources in the Assembly and political observers said the suspensions could have long-standing implications for the BJP MLAs. A session of the House continues unless it is prorogued by the governor. The Speaker on Monday adjourned the session sine die.
“After every session, the governor has to prorogue the House in order to start afresh. Unless he does that, the earlier session is considered to be on. Therefore, the MLAs will probably remain suspended for a whole year,” a political observer said.
“I’m happy with my suspension…Everyone knows my role in the Assembly today,” Adhikari said. He added that the MLAs who were suspended belong to those communities which hadn’t voted for Trinamul in 2021.
He said the suspended MLAs would organise mock Assembly sessions in front of the House. Later in the evening, Adhikari and a few BJP MLAs met the governor as he was “the custodian of the House”.
BJP MLAs would write to the Speaker over Monday’s ruckus, Suvendu said and added he did not expect the Speaker to act on their complaints. “Therefore, the MLAs will also contemplate moving the court,” he said.
Reacting to the incident, the Speaker claimed the ruckus had resulted in injuries to 16 to 17 Trinamul MLAs and women security guards of the House.
“I’m deeply saddened with the incident. This can’t be tolerated. This shouldn’t have happened,” Banerjee said. He added that he had no information on BJP legislators getting injured.
Banerjee also said the House and its properties have suffered considerable damage due to Monday’s ruckus and he would decide on “how to realise” the cost.
According to Banerjee he has not witnessed such an unruly atmosphere in the House during his tenure as Speaker in the last 11 years. “Yes, there has been excitement and heated arguments. Sometimes, marshals had to be deployed to move someone out of the House, but never something of this magnitude happened,” Banerjee said.
A former MLA said in December 2012 a similar incident took place inside the House following an unruly debate over an adjournment motion that the CPIM and its allies were trying to move. CPM MLAs Gouranga Chatterjee and Deblina Hembram were injured in the scuffle between the treasury and Opposition benches. Chatterjee suffered head injuries and had to be hospitalised for observation.
