BJP MLAs’ speeches expunged from Assembly records after walkout during tax Bill debate

Kolkata: In a rare move, the speeches of BJP legislators were removed from the official records of the Bengal Legislative Assembly on Thursday.

The decision was taken after the Opposition members participated in a discussion on the West Bengal Sales Tax (Settlement of Dispute)(Amendment) Bill 2025 but walked out of the House without listening to the government’s reply.

Speaker Biman Banerjee, citing procedural rules, issued a stern directive to expunge the speeches of the BJP MLAs involved in the discussion.

According to Assembly rules, members who participate in a debate on a Bill are expected to stay and listen to the government’s response. However, the BJP legislators chose to leave the House immediately after speaking, violating established norms.

BJP MLA Ashok Lahiri was the last among the BJP MLAs who spoke on the Bill, following which state Finance minister rose to present the government’s reply.

However, all BJP members walked out of the House, ignoring repeated requests from the minister and the Speaker to stay during the reply.

The members of the ruling party raised a formal complaint, accusing the Opposition of disrupting the dignity of the Assembly with repeated walkouts.

Speaker Biman Banerjee reminded the House that such conduct was against parliamentary procedure and cited the rulebook.

He stated: “No member can leave the chamber immediately after delivering a speech without hearing the reply. It is a breach of decorum.”

In response, the Speaker announced that the speeches of the three BJP MLAs who participated in the debate on the Sales Tax Amendment Bill would be struck from the official records.

BJP’s Chief Whip Sankar Ghosh spoke on the Bill on Wednesday, while Ambika Roy and Ashok Lahiri spoke on Thursday.

When questioned about the walkout, Ghosh said: “Our protest was pre-announced. We had already informed that while we would participate in the debate, we would not wait for the minister’s reply. The Assembly is being reduced to a party meeting of the Trinamool Congress. Important issues raised by the Opposition through calling attention, motions are being dismissed, while trivial matters are being prioritised. So, we walked out as a form of protest.”