The Congress party, whose MLAs did not engage in the House bedlam, slammed its former ally Trinamool Congress and sought Governor’s intervention to protect the members.
“We feel insecure. We draw your attention and seek protection. What happened today inside the House was serious and shocking. The ruling party (Trinamool Congress) members and a minister started beating some opposition members, including a woman member, in the House in front of the Speaker,” said Congress Legislature Party leader Mohd Sohrab said after submitting a memorandum to Governor M K Narayanan in Raj Bhavan.
Congress’ meeting with the Governor was followed by a Left Front legislature party delegation which submitted its views against the government.
Sohrab alleged that the House witnessed a “dark chapter” in legislative history in the state “which is unpleasant and unprecedented”. “If this situation continues in the House, we can’t imagine what will happen outside the House,” the Congress memorandum said.
So, he said, the Congress members walked out of the House in protest.
Senior Congress MLA Manas Bhunia said despite provocation by Opposition, the government should have been patient and tolerant. “We feel that the Chief Minister, being leader of the House, should sit with the Speaker, Parliamentary Affairs minister, Leader of the Opposition and CLP leader, to probe why such ugly incidents took place inside the House.
“We informed the Governor that we will go to the House tomorrow to study if the situation is congenial to attend the session in the next few days,” he said.
CPM not for Prez rule now
The Left Front MLAs after walking out of the Assembly headed to Raj Bhavan to meet Governor and “'inform him about the unprecedented incident in the Assembly”. However, they stopped short of demanding imposition of President’s rule in the state despite shouting slogans demanding resignation of the government when they sat on a dharna outside the House.
“Slogans could be raised as we had been aggrieved. But before exhausting all the avenues of protest and knocking at all doors of justice we will not ask for President’s rule in the state,” Rabin Deb, CPM state secretariat member, told The Indian Express.
Leader of the Opposition Suryakanta Mishra, who led the delegation to Raj Bhavan, raised the issue of chit funds that triggered the bedlam with Governor.
He said that the state government was evasive of the functioning of the chit funds in the state, adding ,“Presidential assent in this regard is still awaited since January 25, 2010. We think state Governor can do something in this regard.”
Govt backs Speaker’s decision
The Trinamool Congress government, meanwhile, defended Speaker Biman Banerjee’s ruling in suspending three CPM MLAs for “instigating violence” in the Assembly.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee said the House adopted a resolution condemning actions of CPM MLAs in provoking violence, abusing the Speaker and disrupting the proceedings of the House.
He said the Speaker suspended the members under section 347 which did not provide any scope for self-defence as demanded by CPM.
He said that despite being decimated in the state in last election, the “CPM had not yet reformed itself and was still resorting to goondaraj as it had done in last 34 years”. He rejected CPM’s charge that Trinamool MLAs were on the offensive. “What business had CPM MLA Debalina Hembram to go to the treasury bench and attack our women members?” he questioned.