The West Bengal Assembly witnessed dramatic scenes on Wednesday when Trinamool Congress MLA Kunal Ghosh confronted Chief Whip Akhruzzaman during the House proceedings. The clash triggered chaos inside the Assembly, forcing the Speaker to order marshals to remove Ghosh before suspending him for the rest of the day.
The Beliaghata MLA was also suspended from the Assembly for the remainder of the day’s proceedings.
What triggered the confrontation?
The dispute began while Chief Whip Akhruzzaman was addressing the House. Kunal Ghosh walked up to him and stood directly in front of his seat, repeatedly questioning why he was allegedly not being allowed to speak during Assembly sessions.
Also Read | Calcutta High Court halts Abhishek Banerjee’s office demolition
According to Ghosh, MLAs aligned with the Kalighat camp are often denied speaking opportunities and their names are removed from the list of speakers by leaders associated with the Ritabrata camp.
As Akhruzzaman attempted to continue his speech, Ghosh repeatedly asked him, “Why did you remove my name? Why are you not allowing me to speak?”
At the time, Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee was seated beside Akhruzzaman, with Javed Khan and Firhad Hakim also present nearby.
House descends into chaos
The exchange quickly disrupted the proceedings as several MLAs rushed into the well of the House. A few BJP legislators also entered the well before Tourism Minister Shankar Ghosh intervened and persuaded them to return to their seats.
Amid the commotion, Speaker Rathindranath Bose repeatedly appealed to Ghosh through the House microphone.
“Kunal Babu, please take your seat. If you do not sit down, I will be compelled to have you removed,” the Speaker said.
Despite repeated warnings, the verbal confrontation continued. Senior TMC leader Shovandeb Chattopadhyay also stepped in as efforts were made to calm the situation.
Marshals escort Kunal Ghosh out
After Ghosh refused to comply with the Speaker’s instructions, Rathindranath Bose directed the marshals to remove him from the Assembly.
Ghosh initially resisted leaving, leading to a brief scuffle as marshals attempted to escort him out. During the pushing and shoving, the MLA lost his balance and fell before being removed from the House.
The Speaker later suspended Kunal Ghosh from the Assembly for the rest of the day.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari condemns the incident
Reacting to the developments, Chief Minister and Leader of the House Suvendu Adhikari strongly criticised Ghosh’s conduct inside the Assembly.
Also Read | ‘Only changed my room in Assembly’: Madan Mitra leaves Mamata Banerjee’s TMC, joins rebel camp
“There are many ways to register a protest. We have members here who have served as MLAs for five, seven and even eight terms. We have never witnessed such unruly behaviour in the Assembly before. We have been in the Opposition and we are now in the Treasury benches. Akhruzzaman Sahib is a senior member of this Assembly and a former minister. His father, Habibur Rahman Sahib, was a respected personality among the people of Murshidabad district. Today, a Mamata-aligned Trinamool member virtually moved to physically assault him. As the Chief Minister and Leader of the House, I strongly condemn this,” he said.
Kunal Ghosh suspended after assembly uproar
The confrontation between Kunal Ghosh and Chief Whip Akhruzzaman brought Wednesday’s Assembly proceedings to a standstill for some time. The Speaker eventually ordered Ghosh’s removal and suspended him for the remainder of the day’s sitting after repeated warnings went unheeded.
FAQs:
Why was Kunal Ghosh marshalled out of the Bengal Assembly?
Kunal Ghosh was marshalled out after confronting TMC Chief Whip Akhruzzaman during proceedings despite repeated warnings from the Speaker.
Was Kunal Ghosh suspended from the West Bengal Assembly?
Yes, the Speaker suspended Kunal Ghosh from the Assembly for the remainder of Wednesday’s proceedings following the disruption.
