India News | WB-LoP-SPEAKER Bengal LoP Submits Deputation to Speaker Seeking Action Against Defectors, Threatens Hunger Strike
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Leader of Opposition in Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Monday claimed that BJP MLAs would stage a hunger strike if Speaker Biman Banerjee doesn't take action against the five legislators who switched over to the ruling TMC from the saffron camp without giving up their membership in the House.
Kolkata, Mar 13 (PTI) Leader of Opposition in Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Monday claimed that BJP MLAs would stage a hunger strike if Speaker Biman Banerjee doesn't take action against the five legislators who switched over to the ruling TMC from the saffron camp without giving up their membership in the House.
Adhikari, along with a few other BJP MLAs, on Monday met Banerjee at his office and submitted a deputation demanding that the speaker initiate an action under anti-defection law against the five MLAs who switched camps after winning the 2021 assembly polls on a BJP ticket.
"We have submitted a deputation to the speaker requesting him to take action against the BJP MLAs who had joined the TMC. Barring Mukul Roy's case, which is now sub-judice, we have urged him to take necessary action against the remaining five legislators who have joined the TMC but have not resigned as MLAs," he told reporters.
Adhikari said that if the demands were not met, the BJP legislative party would hit the streets and even "go for a hunger strike".
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Reacting to Adhikari's comment, Banerjee said he will act as per the norms of the House.
"If they have a complaint, let them file it. I will act as per the norms of the House. They can do whatever they feel is right. But they can't influence my decision," he said.
TMC chief whip Nirmal Ghosh accused Adhikari of trying to put unnecessary pressure on the speaker.
"He has also threatened ministers of dire consequences inside the assembly. That a leader of opposition can stoop so low is unimaginable," he said.
Adhikari had on Monday said that he has filed a petition before Calcutta High Court challenging the speaker's decision to reject his plea seeking disqualification of Mukul Roy under the anti-defection law.
The high court had on April 11, 2022, set aside the speaker's earlier order dismissing a petition by Adhikari, which sought disqualification of Roy as a member of the House on the ground that he defected to the ruling TMC after being elected on a saffron party ticket. The court restored the matter for fresh consideration.
The speaker, however, stuck to his previous decision on the matter. On June 8, 2022, he had rejected Adhikari's petition again.
Apart from Roy, five other BJP MLAs, including Biswajit Das and Tanmoy Ghose, have switched to the TMC in the last two years.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)