Motion for discussion on Operation Sindoor to be placed during Bengal Assembly session

A motion for discussion on ‘Operation Sindoor’ will be placed on the floor of the West Bengal Assembly during the monsoon session of the House starting from June 9 and to continue for about two weeks or little more than that, the Speaker of the House Biman Bandopadhyay told newspersons on Monday.

It is learned that the motion will be moved either by the treasury bench in the House or suo motu by the Speaker, which will be decided at the business advisory committee meeting for the monsoon session, just before the proceedings of the session begin.

The date of moving the motion will also be decided at the meeting of the business advisory committee.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, earlier this month, mooted a proposal for a special session of the Parliament after the return of the members of the multi-party delegations who are currently on tours to different countries as part of the Operation Sindoor Outreach Programme.

In reply to that proposal from the Chief Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, demanded a special session of the West Bengal Assembly on the communal violence and riot-like situation at minority-dominated Murshidabad district last month after protests against the newly promulgated Waqf (Amendment) Act turned violent.

On Monday, when questioned by the media persons on the demand of the Leader of the Opposition for discussion on Murshidabad violence on the floor of the Assembly, the Speaker said that the matter will be brought under consideration if the opposition bench moves a specific proposal in the matter.

The Speaker further said that in the past, there had been instances of the opposition demanding discussions on issues and then staging a walkout from the House at the time of the Chief Minister.

Political observers feel that the monsoon session of the House is likely to be quite stormy over issues like Murshidabad violence, and controversy over the newly inaugurated Lord Jagannath Temple at Digha in the East Midnapore district of West Bengal which has reportedly been modelled after the iconic Shree Jagannath Dham Temple at Puri in Odisha and recent cane-charge by police on “untainted” teachers protesting over loss of their jobs following a Supreme Court order last month.