NDA walk-out to protest Bengal CM's remark on Dalmiya

New Delhi, Aug 2 (UNI) NDA members, including those from BJP and Trinamool Congress, staged a walk-out from the Lok Sabha today in token protest against not being allowed to raise a matter regarding West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeo Bhattacharjee's reported observations on the outcome of the CAB elections.

As soon as the House reassembled after the lunch recess, Ms Mamta Banerjee(TMC) stood up to say that the Chief Minister had made an objectionable remark against former BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya's victory in the CAB elections, adding he cannot be a dictator to make such a remark in case of election to an autonomous body.

Amid Deputy Speaker Charnjit Singh Atwal's persistent requests to her to sit down, she quoted the Chief Minister as having stated that Mr Dalmiya would have to quit and that ''I will see to it that he has to go''. She termed the Chief Minister's remark as dictatorial.

As other NDA members joined Ms Banerjee in her protest, she shouted, saying ''Sir, it is a question of life and death.'' However, the Deputy Speaker did not allow her to raise the matter and directed matters under rule 377 to be raised.

Mr V K Malhotra(BJP) said it was no business of a chief minister to decide who would be the chairman of an autonomous body.

When the Deputy Speaker did not heed to the NDA members' plea for discussing the matter, NDA members, including Mamta Banerjee, staged a walk-out, only to come back in the House after two minutes.

Mr Gurudas Dasgupta(CPI) sought to raise a point of order saying that a state subject could not be raised in Parliament, which provoked Mr Kharbela Swain(BJP) to retort that Mr Dasgupta too had been raising too often matters concerning Gujarat in the House.

UNI YS PK RAI1603