Agartala, July 07, 2023: The budget session of the Tripura Legislative Assembly on Friday turned into a chaotic spectacle as opposition parties, including TIPRA Motha, CPIM, and Congress MLAs, joined forces to protest and demand action against BJP MLA Yadav Lal Nath. Nath had been caught watching an inappropriate video during the previous assembly session in March.
The first day of the budget session began with a rendition of the national anthem, but soon after, TIPRA Motha MLA Animesh Debbarma raised an adjournment motion. He stated that BJP MLA Yadav Lal Nath had been caught watching obscene videos during the last session, yet no action had been taken against him by the speaker of the assembly.
Despite the speaker, Biswa Bandhu Sen, informing the house that Animesh Debbarma’s plea would be addressed later, Debbarma continued to speak even when his microphone was turned off. This sparked a heated uproar on the assembly floor.
At 11:06 AM, all the opposition MLAs, led by Animesh Debbarma from TIPRA, Jitendra Chaudhury from CPIM, and Birajit Sinha from Congress, gathered at the well of the assembly and chanted slogans. Their protest became so aggressive that five MLAs were eventually suspended for their unruly behavior.
During the first day of the budget session, TIPRA Motha MLAs Ranjit Debbarma and Biswajit Kalai were seen shouting slogans as part of their protest. Additionally, Nandita Reang, another TIPRA Motha MLA, walked over the table in an attempt to reach Speaker BB Sen’s chair.
The five suspended MLAs are Ranjit Debbarma (TMP), Nandita Reang (TMP), Brishaketu Debbarma (TMP), Sudip Roy Barman (Congress), and Nayan Sarkar (CPIM).
At one point, BJP MLAs were also seen raising slogans against the opposition. The ruling BJP’s Parliamentary Affairs minister, Ratan Lal Nath, indirectly blamed Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman for disrupting the atmosphere in the assembly.
After approximately 50 minutes of protest and the suspension of five MLAs, Speaker Sen finally gave Opposition leader Animesh Debbarma an opportunity to speak on the proposal put forward by Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha. Animesh expressed his dissatisfaction, saying, “I wanted clarification from the chair regarding the adjournment motion on BJP MLA Yadav Lal Nath’s viewing of explicit content in the sacred environment of this house during the last session in March. You promised me that you would address this matter. I cannot accept this. If you had stated that the motion would be allowed, I would have remained silent. If it is reconsidered, then all the better.”
Animesh then requested Speaker Sen to withdraw the suspension order against the five MLAs.
Meanwhile, one of the suspended MLAs, Sudip Roy Barman from Congress, sought permission to speak but was denied the opportunity. Sudhangshu Das, a cabinet minister from the Treasury Bench, urged the chair to remove the suspended MLAs from the assembly floor and proceed with the session. He also insisted that the suspended MLAs should no longer be given the chance to speak.
Subsequently, all the opposition MLAs from TIPRA Motha, CPIM, and Congress, including Sudip Roy Barman, walked out of the assembly floor at 12:07 PM. However, Congress MLAs Gopal Chandra Roy and Birajit Sinha stayed behind for a while.