A delegation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders called on Home Minister Amit Shah to demand the removal of West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar even as the issue of Birbhum vioelnce was raised in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
Raising the issue in the House, Congress’ Deputy Leader Gaurav Gogoi accused the State government of not allowing the party’s leader in the House, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, to visit the site of the violence.
On Wednesday, Mr. Chowdhury had written to President Ram Nath Kovind to invoke Article 355 to ensure that “West Bengal is governed as per constitutional provisions”.
“He [Mr Chowdhury] has been stopped at Bolpur, nearly 90 km away from the spot. It is a blow to democracy as he was there to express his solidarity with the victims,” Mr. Gogoi said.
Shouting slogans against the TMC government, BJP’s Saumitra Khan rushed to the well of the House, sat in the aisle briefly and alleged that Bengal had become a “land of terror”.
Speaker reprimands member
Mr. Khan’s angry tirade found support from other BJP members but Speaker Om Birla reprimanded the member to express his displeasure. “The House cannot run in such a manner,” he said. Mr Birla advised members to exercise restrain and maintain the dignity of the House and not resort to personal comments.
TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay defended the State government and informed the members of his meeting with Mr. Shah. The Home Minister said that there was no politics over the issue and that firm punishment should be given to the guilty, he added.
Earlier, after his meeting with the Home Minister, The TMC leader told reporters that the Governor was working against constitutional norms. “Parliamentary system is under threat from him,” he stated.
