The West Bengal assembly saw unruly scenes on the first day of the Budget session as BJP members protested in the well of the house over alleged post-poll violence in the recently held local body elections.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked the Governor to deliver his speech, but amid protests the Governor could not read his speech and was about to leave when Trinamool Congress MLAs gathered near his seat and prevented him from leaving the house without reading the address.
He finally tabled it in the assembly after reading the first and the last lines.
Ms Banerjee called the development “unprecedented” and said it was a “planned attempt” to create a constitutional crisis.
“The situation created was unprecedented. We waited for more than an hour and our MLAs did not say a word. The Speaker appealed multiple times and I also appealed with folded hands. This is the drama of the BJP after losing everything. The BJP has not done the right thing today. It’s a shame for democracy,” Ms Banerjee told reporters after the Governor left.
On the Trinamool MLAs not letting the Governor leave initially, Ms Banerjee said, “Our MLAs got involved as the Governor was leaving without reading his speech and if he had not read his speech it would be a constitutional crisis. To protect the Constitution, we requested him to read his speech.”
The Leader of Opposition, BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, alleged Trinamool MLAs had manhandled the Governor.
“The constitutional head, the Governor, was physically manhandled and assaulted by Trinamool MLAs, especially women MLAs. What happened inside the house was seen by everyone. We will meet the Governor. Our demand is very simple. Our constitutional head was physically assaulted by Trinamool MLAs. The Governor should take action,” Mr Adhikari said.
Ms Banerjee later went to meet the Governor and spent 30 minutes. The Governor and the Chief Minister have shared frosty ties, with Ms Banerjee blocking the Governor on Twitter for his comments on the Bengal government.
With inputs from NDTV
The post Trinamool MLAs stop Governor from leaving without speech first appeared on IPA Newspack.
