Left Front stages walkout in state assembly

Opposition Left Front on Thursday walked out of the state assembly in protest against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s failure to apprise the House about developments relating to the Gorkha Territorial Administration.

Raising a point of order after Question Hour in the House, CPI(M) member Anisur Rahaman wondered why the chief minister was not apprising the House about the developments of the GTA.

Opposition members shouted slogans and rushed to the Speaker’s desk demanding an assurance on when the chief minister would give a statement on the new hill council in Darjeeling.

Speaker Biman Banerjee said he would be able to inform members after discussing the matter with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee.

This prompted Left Front members to walk out.

Later, Rahaman told a press conference that the chief minister was deliberately avoiding the House and keeping the members in the dark about developments on the GTA.

Rahaman also questioned the utility of setting up a panel to ascertain the findings of Shyamal Sen committee and wondered how an IAS officer could review its report since it was given by a retired Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court who was also chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission.