Suvendu Adhikari calls TMC 'anti-women' after MP's suspension

West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari called the TMC "anti-women" after MP Kalyan Banerjee was suspended from Parliament. Adhikari pointed to TMC's vote against the women's reservation bill, while TMC's Sougata Roy called the suspension unjust.

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday called the Trinamool Congress "anti-women" after MP Kalyan Banerjee was suspended for the remaining part of the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament for allegations of indecent behaviour and use of intemperate language against women MPs.

Speaking to reporters in Hooghly, CM Adhikari recalled the RG Kar and Kasba Law College rape cases. He also noted that the TMC MPs voted against the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill in April, which proposed delimitation in the Lok Sabha and the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures. He said, "TMC is anti-women; everyone knows about this. From Abhaya to the Kasba Law College, the way tragedies unfolded in Bengal during their rule, everyone knows about it, and they themselves proved it. When the Constitutional Amendment was passed for one-third reservation in Parliament and in the Assembly, they voted with the Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), voting against women's reservation."

Details of Suspension

On Wednesday, the Lok Sabha adopted the motion seeking the suspension of TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee. According to the complaint submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Banerjee displayed "unprecedented behaviour" inside Parliament while business was underway and "in his misogynistic manner verbally abused NCPI members and minister Bhupendra Yadav".

Opposition Calls Suspension 'Procedural Injustice'

Meanwhile, TMC MP Sougata Roy called the move a procedural injustice. Speaking on behalf of a joint opposition delegation, Roy argued that applying Rule 374(2) to an incident that occurred while the House was not in formal session sets an improper precedent. "Today, after 2 pm, the acting chairman read out a notice where Kalyan Banerjee was suspended from the House for the remainder of the session. All of us who were present in the House could not make out what the chairman was saying. We want to point out that if the chairman was mentioning the altercation that took place between Kalyan Banerjee and Mitali Bag. The house was not in session at that time. Microphones were off. There was nobody in the chair. No notice was given to Kalyan Banerjee, nor was he given a chance to defend himself. The motion to suspend him is out of order as the House was not in session," Roy said. (ANI)

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