4 BJP MLAs suspended after ruckus in Bengal Assembly; 14 marshals and legislators injured in scuffle

Four BJP MLAs—Agnimitra Paul, Manoj Oraon, Deepak Barman, and Shankar Ghosh—were suspended for the remainder of the session after protests erupted in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Monday. The protest was triggered by the Speaker’s decision to remove the BJP legislators’ remarks from the official records of Thursday’s session, after they had walked out without hearing the minister’s response during a bill discussion. Ashok Lahiri raised a point of order at the start of Monday’s proceedings, questioning the basis of the decision and demanding an explanation. Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya responded, after which the BJP MLAs began protesting.

Following the disruption, marshals were summoned to the chamber. According to visuals and accounts, Manoj Oraon was physically removed from the House by marshals after a scuffle. The other three MLAs were also taken out. BJP MLAs were seen tearing papers and shouting slogans inside the Assembly. After removal, they staged a protest outside the building holding placards with slogans. BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh alleged that marshals attacked them and said, “Earlier Manoj Tigga, Debolina Hembram, and Abdul Mannan were sent to hospital. Now they want to send us again. If we can’t free Bengal from this misrule, we don’t deserve to be BJP workers.”

Assembly marshals and staff alleged that BJP MLAs manhandled them during the chaos. Several employees were seen with bandages on their hands in the lobby after the incident. Both sides have reported injuries. At the time of the clash, Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari was not in the House. He later met the Speaker with damaged spectacles and a broken watch reportedly belonging to BJP MLAs and lodged a complaint.

Speaker Biman Banerjee said that 14 security personnel were injured during the incident. He also confirmed that the BJP side had raised complaints about broken personal items. “I will conduct a full investigation into the matter,” said the Speaker during the Assembly session. BJP MLAs later walked out of the Assembly, continuing their protest outside.