KOLKATA: For the fifth successive day on Friday the Trinamool Congress, the principal Opposition party in the State, walked out of the West Bengal Assembly protesting against the Speaker's refusal to allow discussions to censure Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and his Government for the police firing at Nandigram on March 14.

Later, Leader of the Opposition Partha Chatterjee said the party would continue its protests both inside and outside the House until its demand was met.

As soon as the House convened, there were noisy scenes with Trinamool members moving around in the well, shouting slogans and holding aloft placards condemning the Nandigram violence and demanding the Chief Minister's resignation.

They continued their slogan-shouting in the Assembly lobby after they trooped out of the House.

Charge against Halim

Mr. Chatterjee said Speaker H.A. Halim was deliberately preventing the Opposition from censuring the Government. He was depriving members "of their democratic rights" even as he occupied the Speaker's chair, he alleged.

Mr. Halim had made it clear that the Nandigram issue could not be taken up for discussions as the police firing there was presently a matter before the Calcutta High Court. Mr. Chatterjee also charged the Speaker with using his office to make "ugly remarks" against Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who expressed anguish over the deaths at Nandigram. "The Speaker also made a similar remark against the High Court, which ordered a CBI

investigation into the firing," he added.

The developments at Nandigram were reviewed at a high-level meeting convened by the Chief Minister at the State Secretariat during the day.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail