A bitter confrontation between rival factions of the Trinamool Congress on Wednesday leading to the suspension of Belgharia MLA Kunal Ghosh for the remainder of the day after he disrupted proceedings during the debate on the Home Department’s budget.
The confrontation erupted when Opposition chief whip Akhruzzaman, considered close to Bengal Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, rose to participate in the debate.
Ghosh, who is identified with the Kalighat faction of the party, walked up to the front of Akhruzzaman’s seat and repeatedly questioned why his name had allegedly been dropped from the list of speakers.
“You are removing my name. Why?” Ghosh was heard asking as Akhruzzaman continued his speech.
Despite repeated requests from Speaker Rathindranath Basu to return to his seat, Ghosh remained standing in front of the Opposition benches, interrupting the proceedings.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shankar Ghosh, Higher Education Minister Jagannath Chattopadhyay, and several BJP MLAs also approached him in an attempt to defuse the situation.
After Ghosh ignored repeated warnings, the Speaker directed Assembly marshals to escort him out of the House. A scuffle broke out as marshals attempted to remove him. During the commotion, Ghosh fell on the Assembly floor before being carried out by the marshals.
In protest, MLAs belonging to the Kalighat faction staged a walkout from the House. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari strongly criticised the disruption without naming Ghosh.
“There is a limit to such behaviour. We too sat in the Opposition benches for five years, but I have never witnessed such unruly conduct. I strongly condemn this. Such behaviour cannot be tolerated,” the chief minister said while replying to the debate.
Later, MLA Tapas Roy proposed that Ghosh be suspended from the Assembly. However, the chief minister urged restraint, suggesting that the suspension be limited to the day’s proceedings.
“My proposal is that he should be suspended only for today and allowed to return tomorrow. If he repeats such behaviour, further action can be considered. There is no need to make him famous by imposing a longer suspension,” Adhikari remarked.
The controversy follows growing tensions within the Trinamool Congress over the preparation of the list of Opposition speakers in the Assembly.
MLAs aligned with the Kalighat camp have alleged that Akhruzzaman, as Opposition chief whip, has been excluding their names while giving preference to legislators loyal to the Ritabrata Banerjee faction.
The issue was first raised on Tuesday by Kaliganj MLA Alifa Ahmed, who questioned why members who had prepared extensively for the debate were not being given an opportunity to speak.
Responding to the allegations, the Chief Minister said the Speaker could only act on the list submitted by the Opposition chief whip.
“I served as Leader of Opposition for five years. The established procedure is that the Opposition chief whip submits the list of speakers to the government’s chief whip, and the Speaker calls members accordingly. If there are internal disputes within your party, resolve them yourselves. Neither the Chief Minister nor the Assembly can settle those disputes,” Adhikari said.
The unprecedented scenes highlighted the deepening factional divide within the Trinamool Congress, with the dispute spilling onto the floor of the Assembly and disrupting legislative business.