Post-Trinamool-Left day of shame, Congress MLAs enter West Bengal Assembly wearing helmets

Congress MLAs including women members wore helmets when they entered the West Bengal assembly today, a day after a scuffle inside the House spun out of control, even as the Speaker ordered a probe into the role of securitymen during the violence.

Left Front members, meanwhile, walked out of the Assembly demanding revocation of the suspension of three CPI(M) MLAs after yesterday's bedlam, saying the members would not apologise or attend the House, a stand described as adamant by the Mamata Banerjee government.

The Assembly turned into a virtual battlefield when ruling Trinamool Congress and Opposition CPI(M) members scuffled and traded blows resulting in injuries to three MLAs, with the Speaker suspending three Marxist members for the remainder of the short winter session.

CPI(M) MLA Gouranga Chatterjee received head injuries. TMC MLA Mahmuda Begum was hit in the chest while party colleague Pulak Roy was injured in the leg. All the three were taken to hospital.

As a majority of the 30-odd legislators of Congress entered the house wearing helmets and holding placards with the inscription "we want to save our heads first", Speaker Biman Banerjee spelt out the rules that wearing of hats or helmets were not permitted inside the house and insisted on their removal. The MLAs then removed the helmets.

The Speaker ordered the inquiry into the role of securitymen during the violence after Parliamentary Affairs and Industry minister Partha Chatterjee raised the issue alleging they remained mute spectators when pandemomium broke out.

The Speaker, who had suspended CPI(M) members Nazmul Haq, Sushanta Besra and Amjad Hossain for unruly behaviour, said as the suspended members did not apologise he could not revoke the suspension on his own.

He said a motion would have to be moved under rule 348 of the assembly rules to know the sense of the house.

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