Three BJP MPs have written a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Biral, requesting the filing of an FIR against TMC member Kalyan Banerjee and his immediate suspension from the House pending an investigation. They described the incident as "unprecedented violence" that occurred during a meeting of the joint parliamentary panel on the Waqf bill. The letter, signed by Nishikant Dubey, Aparajita Sarangi, and Abhijit Gangopadhyay, also called for an investigation by the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee to evaluate the potential rescinding of Banerjee’s membership from the Lower House.
At a meeting of the Joint Committee on Waqf Bill on Tuesday, Banerjee smashed a glass water bottle and allegedly threw it towards the panel’s chairperson Jagdambika Pal during a heated exchange of words with BJP's Abhijit Gangopadhyay.
'Act of goondaism and unpardonable violence'
In their joint letter to the Speaker on Tuesday, the BJP members said that they along with other members of the panel witnessed the "act of goondaism and unpardonable violence" by Banerjee during the sitting of the parliamentary committee.
"The goondaism and unpardonable violence exhibited by Kalyan Banerjee has surpassed all limits of a civilised behaviour expected from a Member of Parliament which has now become an act of life-threatening attack on the Chairperson Jagdambika Pal," they noted.
"Therefore the same calls for stringent action by your goodself as otherwise, our cherished parliamentary system of governance would be tarnished beyond repair," they added.
FIR may be lodged against Banerjee
The BJP MPs called for an FIR to be filed against Banerjee for what they described as "unprecedented goondaism, unpardonable violence, and a life-threatening attack" on Pal. They also demanded that Banerjee be placed in police custody, interrogated, and investigated by the appropriate law enforcement agencies.
"In terms of Rule 316B (a) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, the unethical conduct of Kalyan Banerjee, Member of Parliament, may be referred to the Committee on Ethics for examination, investigation and report for considering rescinding his membership," they demanded.
Pending further action against him, Banerjee may be suspended from the proceedings of the House and its committees and also barred from entering the Parliament Estate till the concussion of the inquiry against him, the BJP MPs added.
(With PTI inputs)
