Kolkata: Two days after a pitched battle between BJP supporters and police during a protest march towards the state secretariat event, the West Bengal Assembly plunged into pandemonium on Thursday following a poster row between the lawmakers of the saffron camp and the ruling TMC broke out.
The BJP MLAs walked out of the floor of the House and staged a sit-in demonstration. The trouble broke out when the leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari sought an adjournment motion to speak about the recruitment scam in schools and corruption involving ruling party functionaries. The Speaker, Biman Banerjee turned down the motion citing the issue as sub-judice.
The BJP MLAs took out posters displaying the content related to the alleged recruitment scam in schools. The TMC legislators, too, were ready to counter it and they brandished placards displaying "Don’t touch my body’’ words which was said to be a jibe at Adhikari who told a woman cop not to touch him.
On the day of the protest march, Adhikari, while being taken to a police vehicle, told a lady cop, "Don’t touch my body. You are a lady and I am a male.’’ His reaction went viral on social media platforms and the ruling TMC did not miss the opportunity to take a jibe at Adhikari.
Reacting to the TMC posters, fashion designer-turned-BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul from the Asansol South constituency described it as an attack below the belt. "We wanted to speak about recruitment scams and corruption. We were not allowed as the Speaker said the issues are sub-judice. Then the TMC MLAs took out the poster displaying Adhikari’s warning to a female cop. This is a below-the-belt attack. Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t teach us to hit below the belt,’’ she said.
Supporting Adhikari, Agnimitra asked what was wrong with it. "If a policeman is not allowed to touch a female protestor, why should a lady cop touch a male ?’’ she asked.
Adhikari, however, described the decision to send a female cop to detain him as a part of a conspiracy to frame him in false molestation charges.
Newly appointed commerce and industries minister Sashi Panja found nothing wrong with police action. "No law restricts a lady cop to take action against a lawbreaker. The law is neutral for all. The law is gender neutral. The minister said Adhikari himself was involved in corruption and he was raising his voice against it."