Kolkata, Feb. 18 -- A Privilege Motion was moved against Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari in the state Assembly on Tuesday by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) for allegedly making "provocative" statements against the Bengal government.

Adhikari on Monday had allegedly labelled the Mamata Banerjee government as a "government of Muslims". The motion against Adhikari, who was suspended from the Bengal Assembly on Monday, was moved by the Parliamentary Affairs minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay.

Accepting the motion, the Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay has referred it to the privilege committee for further action. Reminding that the Assembly should "not be considered weak", Bandopadhyay said that Adhikari had delivered a "provocative" speech. The Speaker on Tuesday also urged Adhikari to issue a public apology. Adhikari also allegedly described the

state government as a "government of terrorists".

The motion was moved by Chief Whip Nirmal Ghosh, Parliamentary Affairs minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim, and Sports & Youth Affairs minister Aroop Biswas on Tuesday.

Speaking further on the issue, the Speaker inside the Assembly premises said: "He (Adhikari) was suspended because a motion was moved by a member of the House. He was suspended for 30 days or until the end of the session. The manner in which he behaved inside the House was extremely derogatory. A Privilege Motion was moved in the House and I have examined it.

I am highly satisfied and therefore, I have forwarded it to the Privilege Committee. He tore the paper and threw it

at the chair.

I don't think it is dignified on the part of the Leader of

the Opposition."

Chattopadhyay also criticised Adhikari for his "unruly behaviour" and said: "Such an incident or speech has never been delivered in the history of the Legislative Assembly. We feel insulted by these comments and hence we brought the privilege motion.

He (Adhikari) is doing politics with religion. Let him go out and prove that he is a big Hindu. They are neither Hindus nor Muslims. They are doing all this for vote politics."

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.