NEW DELHI, 5 August 2005 — There was resignation drama at the Indian Parliament yesterday when both the Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and a member Mamata Banerjee threatened to resign over unruly scenes.
The member from West Bengal, Mamata even hurled a sheaf of documents at the deputy speaker when she was denied permission to speak.
Speaker Chatterjee had assigned the session to his deputy, Charanjit Singh Atwal, when a visibly angry Mamata showered Atwal with papers in the 545-seat lower house of Parliament.
“I am quitting because I have been denied my fundamental right to raise the important issue of illegal immigration of Bangladeshi nationals into West Bengal (state),” she told reporters.
“There is no question of reconsidering my decision to quit which I took after due consideration,” Mamata said, adding that she also had no regrets over hurling the documents at a stunned-looking Atwal.
Later she handed a letter of resignation to Chatterjee, which he rejected. “It was not submitted in a proper form and I am not treating it as a letter of resignation,” Chatterjee said.
Earlier yesterday Chatterjee had himself threatened to quit as speaker, saying almost daily unruly scenes had turned the legislature into a “laughing stock.”
“The Lok Sabha (lower house) is the highest forum in the country but it has become a laughing stock for the people of India,” he said after opposition and ruling party leaders clashed during a debate.
Chatterjee displayed his temper over the absence of Home Minister Shivraj Patil and also at a member, who started walking out of the house on not being permitted to ask a supplementary during the question hour.
Chatterjee took strong notice of Patil’s absence, when the item on which he was to respond came up for discussion. Patil was not present in the house when Manipur-issue related to the ongoing economic blockade there, non-availability of essential commodities and steps being pursued by government was to be taken up, and unruly scenes ensued and Chatterjee adjourned the house.
He later threatened to quit when CPI (M) member Tarit Baran Topdar began walking out of the house saying that he was not being permitted to ask a supplementary during the question hour. His party colleague M. Salim dissuaded him from going out of the house.
Stunned at Topdar’s action, Chatterjee said: “It is amazing, disturbing... Let there be a new speaker. I shall go out of the house.” Information and Broadcasting Minister S. Jaipal Reddy calmed Chatterjee saying: “I don’t think you should be provoked by such incidents.”
— With input from Agencies
