LoP Suvendu Adhikari among 4 BJP MLAs suspended from West Bengal Assembly
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BJP MLA and LoP Suvendu Adhikari speaks to media after suspension at West Bengal Legislative Assembly in Kolkata on Tuesday.
Kolkata: Four BJP MLAs, including Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, Agnimitra Paul, Vishwanath Karak, and Bankim Ghosh, were suspended from the House on Monday. The suspension, which will last for 30 days, came after the BJP raised a motion alleging that Saraswati Puja was "not allowed" in the state.
Expressing strong discontent over the decision, Adhikari criticized the move, stating, “Useless Speaker… The Chief Minister doesn’t attend sessions regularly but keeps an eye on us when we are absent, only to appear later. This is the fourth time BJP MLAs have been suspended five months in 2022, followed by one month, then two months. In total, we have been kept out of the House for eight months. We are the only opposition. The House belongs to the Opposition. We won on the Hindu vote, and we will continue raising our voices for them. This government is a minority’s government and is anti-Hindu.”
The suspension followed a major uproar in the Assembly after women MLAs, led by Agnimitra Paul, introduced an adjournment motion to discuss the alleged obstruction of Saraswati Puja. However, Speaker Biman Banerjee did not allow a debate on the matter, leading to BJP MLAs walking out in protest.
Banerjee later justified the suspension, stating, “A motion was moved by TMC MLA Nirmal Ghosh, and the way the Opposition leader threw documents at my chair is highly condemnable. Ghosh proposed the motion for their suspension, and after a vote, it was decided they would be suspended for 30 days.”
Adhikari further alleged that the decision was a deliberate attempt to silence prominent opposition voices. “They have intentionally targeted those who actively participate in debates and Question and Answer sessions. Agnimitra Paul was protesting from her seat, why has she been suspended? The Chief Minister is scheduled to respond to the Governor’s speech tomorrow, and by suspending the Leader of Opposition and three vocal BJP MLAs, they have ensured that she can speak without any objections.”