'Central agencies not following protocols'

KOLKATA: Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay on Wednesday alleged that the Central agencies were working in the state without informing him. Participating with the Speakers of different states in a webinar on the Role of Legislator and Meaningful Democracy, Bandyopadhyay complained about the alleged 'highhandedness' and 'hyperactivity' of the Central agencies to his counterpart in Lok Sabha, Om Birla.

He maintained that to take any action against the members of Parliament, permission of the Speaker is sought, but the same has not been followed by the Central agencies in Bengal against the legislators.

He said many issues, which could be resolved in the Assembly, were being taken to the Court without informing the Speaker. The Court is accepting such cases.

He regretted that even the Governor was intervening in the functioning of the state Legislative Assembly.

Such actions affect Parliamentary democracy badly, he remarked.

Bandopadhyay had raised the intervention of the Governor in the Speakers' conference in June. He had complained against the Governor to the Lok Sabha Speaker.

Meanwhile, Arpita Ghosh, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP resigned on Wednesday. Ghosh, who was a Lok Sabha MP from Balurghat in 2014, lost in 2019. She was nominated for Rajya Sabha.