HT Correspondent
AGARTALA, March 27: The Tripura Legislative Assembly witnessed heated exchanges between the ruling BJP and opposition Congress MLAs on Thursday, following calls for Speaker Biswabandhu Sen’s intervention to bring the principal opposition party, CPI(M), back to the House on the fifth day of the ongoing Budget session.
After the Question Hour session, Congress MLA Gopal Chandra Roy raised the issue, stating, “It is inappropriate for the House to function without the principal opposition. While I support Chief Minister Prof. Dr. Manik Saha’s appeal, I urge the Speaker to step in and resolve the impasse.”
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CPI(M) had announced a boycott of the remaining business days of the session on Wednesday, accusing Speaker Biswabandhu Sen of partisan conduct. The dispute began when leader of opposition (LoP) Jitendra Chaudhury moved a privilege motion against Parliamentary Affairs minister Ratan Lal Nath for an alleged racial slur. However, the Speaker rejected the motion, citing that minister Nath had already submitted a similar motion against the LoP earlier.
In response, chief minister Manik Saha appealed to CPI(M) to return to the House.
“The Chief Minister, as Leader of the House, has made his appeal, but the final decision rests with the Leader of the Opposition, Jitendra Chaudhury,” Speaker Biswabandhu Sen remarked.
Defending the Speaker’s decision, Nath accused the LoP of making baseless allegations and showing disrespect.
“Under these circumstances, how can he appeal? The Leader of the House has already made the request, and that should be the final word. Remember, those who repeat the same mistakes every day are Communists. Why hasn’t Congress asked them to return?” said minister Nath.
Meanwhile, Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman thanked the chief minister for his appeal and emphasised that the Speaker, as the custodian of the House, should personally invite the LoP to his chamber to resolve the deadlock.
However, Tripura Tourism minister Sushanta Chowdhury dismissed Roy Barman’s appeal, recalling past incidents when CPI(M) was in power.
“The Congress MLA seems to have forgotten how he was treated as Leader of the Opposition when CPI(M) ruled. Showing sympathy for CPI(M) now is completely undemocratic,” he remarked.
