On March 28, Monday, a ruckus ensued inside the West Bengal Legislative Assembly as the opposition demanded a discussion on the recent Birbhum massacre. The BJP MLAs claimed that they were assaulted and manhandled by the TMC MLAs as they demanded Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation over the law and order situation in the state in light of the Birbhum violence wherein eight persons were killed.
Videos of the incident have gone viral on social media where MLAs could be seen crowding the floors of the Assembly and fighting each other.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and Chief Whip Manoj Tigga’s clothes were reportedly torn in the scuffle.
#BJP Chief Whip Manoj Tigga’s clothes were torn in the scuffle. pic.twitter.com/gxKEOcGF4x
— Debayan Dutta (@DebayanDuttaa) March 28, 2022
Following the incident, Amit Malviya, the BJP’s IT cell chief, took to Twitter to share a video of the chaos in the Assembly. Amit Malviya, who shared images of the fistfight, accused the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government of attempting to conceal something.
Absolute pandemonium in the West Bengal Assembly. After Bengal Governor, TMC MLAs now assault BJP MLAs, including Chief Whip Manoj Tigga, as they were demanding a discussion on the Rampurhat massacre on the floor of the house.
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) March 28, 2022
What is Mamata Banerjee trying to hide? pic.twitter.com/umyJhp0jnE
“Absolute pandemonium in the West Bengal Assembly. After Bengal Governor, TMC MLAs now assault BJP MLAs, including Chief Whip Manoj Tigga, as they were demanding a discussion on the Rampurhat massacre on the floor of the house. What is Mamata Banerjee trying to hide?” Malviya tweeted following the chaotic incident.
BJP National General Secretary (Organisation) BL Santhosh also condemned the event on Twitter. The BJP leader accused the TMC of causing the uproar. He Tweeted, “West Bengal politics reaches another low today. Actually, it’s been on free fall ever since Mamata Banerjee took charge in May. Today BJP chief whip Sri Manoj Tigga and others were assaulted by TMC inside Assembly.”
West Bengal politics reaches another low today. Actually it’s on free fall ever since @MamataOfficial took charge in May. Today @BJP4Bengal chief whip Sri Manoj Tigga & others were assaulted by @AITCofficial inside Aaaembly .
— B L Santhosh (@blsanthosh) March 28, 2022
Agnimitra Paul, a BJP leader, also took to Twitter to question Mamata Banerjee’s administration about its choices to muzzle the opposition’s voice.
Today inside the temple of DEMOCRACY….West Bengal assembly BJP MLAs men and women were attacked, heckled, harassed by TMC MLAs. @MamataOfficial ‘s wish to silence the OPPOSITION continues.
— Agnimitra Paul BJP (@paulagnimitra1) March 28, 2022
If you are not a TMC, you will be assaulted even if you are a MLA
SHAME!!
Meanwhile, the TMC MLAs also alleged that they were injured amid the fistfight that broke out in the West Bengal Assembly. Reportedly, three Trinamool MLAs have gone to the hospital following the incident.
5 BJP MLAs, including the Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, Manoj Tigga and Shankar Ghosh were suspended after the ruckus. LoP Adhikari will now be absent from the assembly until the end of the following session. In response to the suspension, Adhikari lashed out at the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government, threatening to sue if appropriate action is not taken against the TMC MLAs responsible for the uproar.
TMC demands removal of West Bengal Governor for raising his voice against the Birbhum massacre
Interestingly, on March 24, a delegation of TMC MPs had met Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi regarding the aftermath of the violent massacre in Birbhum which took place on Tuesday night. TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay demanded the removal of West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar after he questioned the Mamata Banerjee-led state government over the killings.
Birbhum carnage
On March 22 late-night, a group of enraged miscreants, reportedly a faction of TMC, set ablaze around 12 homes which resulted in the gruesome death of eight people including women and innocent children in Birbhum’s Rampurhat. The autopsy report of the burnt bodies shows that the people were beaten before they were locked in their homes before the houses were set on fire. The massacre had taken place in retaliation for the alleged murder of a TMC leader.
