Six Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of Opposition in West Bengal, and Agnimitra Paul, have been suspended from the remainder of the West Bengal Assembly session due to their disruptive conduct inside the Assembly.
The suspension came after the BJP leaders sat on the floor of the Assembly, shouting slogans and demanding a discussion on the Sandeshkhali issue by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. They were suspended under Rule 348 of the State Assembly, with the motion moved by Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, West Bengal’s Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, and passed by the House Speaker.
Responding to the suspension, LoP Adhikari stated that the BJP would persist in advocating for the dignity of women.
In a recent development in the Sandeshkhali region of West Bengal, villagers set fire to a poultry farm belonging to Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shivprasad Hazra. This action followed protests, primarily led by women, demanding the arrest of TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh over an alleged land ration allotment scam.
Local residents accused Hazra of forcibly acquiring their land, which triggered the protests and subsequent arson targeting his poultry farm, despite a heavy police presence in response to the demonstrations.
Meanwhile, West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar criticized Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging her failure to protect Scheduled Tribe (ST) women in the Sandeshkhali violence. Majumdar highlighted reports of violence and rape cases, asserting that TMC leaders Sheikh and Hazra had established their dominance and inflicted suffering on women from the ST community. He pointed out that Banerjee, as a woman herself, had not succeeded in safeguarding women in Sandeshkhali.
