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Mamata Banerjee resigns from the Lok Sabha |
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The Lok Sabha witnessed high drama on Thursday, August 4, with Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee flinging papers at the Speaker’s podium and announcing her resignation from the House in protest against what she called “being denied the right to speak.” Her action came at a time when the House was taking up matters of public importance with Deputy Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal in the Chair. Mamata Banerjee wanted to know the fate of her Notice for an adjournment motion on Bangladeshi migration into West Bengal and continued to speak even after Atwal informed her that her motion had been rejected by the Speaker.
With some left party members joining the issue, the Trinamul Congress leader moved into the well of the House and was seen flinging a heap of papers on to the podium leading to a brief adjournment.
Later several Left and UPA members issued a statement condemning Mamata Banerjee’s behaviour and demanded an unqualified apology from her.
Within the House, as Left and BJP members continued their tussle on Mamata Banerjee’s actions, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee came in and refuted the aspersions cast by Mamata Banerjee on the Chair. About her resignation letter, the Speaker said that it was not being treated as one as it was not in the proper format.
In her resignation letter, Mamata Banerjee said she was resigning from the House because she was not allowed to speak and her democratic right was being denied. Sources said the resignation letter was found faulty on technical ground as it was addressed to the Deputy Speaker and it was not unconditional.
While the Congress was circumspect in reacting to the Mamata Banerjee episode, the Left parties backed by the RJD, SP and BSP demanded an apology from the Trinamul Congress chief. On the other hand, BJP members countered the Left attack on Mamata Banerjee. Congress spokesman described the incident as most unfortunate and highly regrettable. Party spokesman Anand Sharma told reporters that such behaviour has no place in Parliamentary democracy.
The UPA government faced a major embarrassment in the Lok Sabha on Thursday when Speaker Somnath Chatterjee admonished Home Minister Shivraj Patil for his absence in the House when it was scheduled to take up a calling attention motion on the situation in Manipur. The House had to be adjourned for ten minutes because of the Minister’s absence. Shivraj Patil later tendered an apology to the Chair and the House.
Thursday, August 4, also witnessed the Speaker threatening to quit his office after a member started walking out of the House saying he was not permitted to ask a supplementary. Ironically, the Member, Tarit Baran Topdar belonged to the CPI(M) to which the Speaker also belongs.
Reacting to the Member’s behaviour, the Speaker said, “It is amazing, disturbing. Let there be a new Speaker. I shall go out of the House.”
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