Left, Cong walk out of assembly after demand for Mamata

The opposition Left Front and Congress on Tuesday staged a walkout from the West Bengal Assembly, after the speaker turned down their demand for a statement from Chief Minster Mamata Banerjee on the steps taken by her government to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

Disgruntled lawmakers of the Congress and the Left Front walked out of the assembly shortly after the Question Hour, as Speaker Biman Banerjee did not heed to their call for a statement from the CM.

"Whenever we demand a statement from the state government regarding any problem, it is turned down...," Left Front Legislative Party leader Sujan Chakraborty said.

"We have been denied our democratic rights inside the House," Leader of Opposition Abdul Mannan said.

The state's Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee said opposition parties should stop politicising each and every matter.

"Coronavirus has been declared as pandemic. We should now keep aside political differences and fight unitedly," Chatterjee said.