Speaker turns down adjournment motion over CAG report

Kolkata: Speaker of West Bengal Legislative Assembly Biman Banerjee turned down the adjournment motion brought by BJP legislators seeking a discussion on recent CAG findings.

Six BJP legislators led by the Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, submitted the adjournment motion seeking discussion on the state government’s alleged non-submission of utilisation certificates worth over Rs 2 crore for funds released under various centrally-sponsored schemes soon after the question answer session was over.

The Speaker refused to accept the motion and turned down the plea for discussion citing assembly rules that do not allow such discussion.

BJP legislators started protesting and trooped into the Well of the House shouting slogans brandishing posters.

“We will not suspend legislators here in similar fashion as in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha where 146 MPs were suspended for pandemonium,” Banerjee said before adjourning the house after the first session. “If the Speaker had gone by the convention then he would have allowed us to read the adjournment motion but instead of doing that, he rejected it. This proves that the government is scared of the CAG report,” Adhikari said in a press conference.

Reacting to Adhikari’s allegation, state Parliamentary Affairs minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay said: “The CAG report also says that Centre is responsible for misappropriating funds worth Rs 7.5 lakh crore. They are telling lies about the state government. Let them speak about the centre first and then they will criticise the

state government”.