WB Assembly Suspends 4 BJP MLAs for a Month; Suvendu Adhikari Is in the List

Kolkata: Four West Bengal BJP MLAs including leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari were suspended by Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee on Monday from the House for a month for their disorderly conduct.

Later, Mr Adhikari announced a boycott of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's address to the House and a sit-in demonstration by his party MLAs at the Assembly gate on Tuesday in protest of the action.

This is the fourth time in the last three and half years the Nandigram BJP MLA faced marching orders from the House. The three other suspended MLAs are Agnimitra Paul of Asansol South, Bishwanath Karak of Goghat and Bankim Chandra Ghosh of Chakda.

On Monday, Ms Paul moved an adjournment motion to be read in the House on the celebration of Saraswati Puja at Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri College in south Kolkata under police deployment this year.

The Speaker did not allow it. The BJP MLAs burst into protest, rushed to the well of the House and tore apart the papers. Shouting slogans, they also staged a walkout from the House when the Speaker warned them of action.

Trinamul Congress chief whip Nirmal Ghosh urged the Speaker to suspend the BJP MLAs. Mr Banerjee said, “The behaviour of the leader of the opposition and other MLAs of his party is condemnable. Mr Ghosh has proposed to suspend them for a month or till the end of the session.”

He also ordered voting on the TMC proposal which was passed with support from the treasury bench. The Speaker then announced the one-month suspension of the four BJP MLAs.

Mr Adhikari questioned the action on three other MLAs when only he protested in the well. He said, “We will boycott the CM by shouting ‘Shame, Shame’ during her Assembly visit. We will also demonstrate at the Address gate on Tuesday.”