'CM's words on need for united stand against BJP have been misconstrued'

Kolkata: State Parliamentary Affairs minister Partha Chatterjee said in the Assembly on Thursday that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's statement has been misconstrued by a section of media and also took a dig at the Opposition leaders for issuing their statement on media without understanding the message the Chief Minister had wanted to convey.

Chatterjee also proposed a privilege motion against CPI(M) MLA Sujan Chakraborty, who rushed up to the Speaker's chair along with other Opposition MLAs and created pandemonium, disrupting the normal proceedings of the House for a brief period of time. The Parliamentary Affairs minister descended to the well of the Assembly as soon as the matter was brought to the notice of the House by Tapas Roy, the minister for Planning, Statistics & Programme monitoring (Independent Charge).

Roy told the House that Opposition leaders have issued media statements, completely misreading the Chief Minister's message. He also told the Assembly that a section of media has misinterpreted the statement issued by the Chief Minister in the House on Wednesday.

Immediately after the matter was raised by Roy, Chakraborty along with other Opposition MLAs descended to the well and staged a demonstration in front of the Speaker. The Opposition MLAs later staged a walkout.

Clarifying Mamata Banerjee's statement, Chatterjee said on Thursday that she has urged the Opposition parties to stand united as the BJP has been triggering a reign of terror not only in the state, but in the national level as well. The saffron party has been creating communal tension in the state which she had tried to encapsulate in her speech, he added.

Incidentally, it may be mentioned that Opposition leader Abdul Mannan and Chakraborty had jumped to a hasty conclusion in this connection. Chatterjee on Thursday proposed a privilege motion in the House against the Opposition MLAs for misinterpreting Banerjee's statement and staging protest in front of the Speaker.

"It has not only disgraced the House but also maligned the Constitution," alleged Chatterjee. Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay said that he would look into the matter.

On Wednesday, the Chief Minister had come down heavily on BJP for running a 'parallel government' for the last five years and also urged CPI (M) and Congress to join hands with Trinamool Congress for fighting the saffron brigade, calling on the need for a united stand in this regard.