People queue up in Assembly to witness yesterday's rampage by MLAs

Kolkata, Dec 01 (UNI) People formed serpentine queues in front of the West Bengal Assembly today to witness the damage wrought by rampaging Trinamool Congress legislators yesterday.

Speaker Hasim Abdul Halim had ordered to keep open the doors of the august House for public for three consecutive days from today between 10-00 hours and 16-00 to enable them to see the 'vandalism' of the opposition Trinamool Congress MLAs.

People from all walks of life had gathered since morning and patiently waited for the gates to open. ''Till 13-30 hours more than 5,000 came and saw the extent of damage done to government property, including some rare artefacts,'' a senior member of the Assembly Secretariat told UNI.

He said responding to the Speaker's direction, people waited for more an hour. Some of them, who even brough their children along, criticised the act of the MLAS and demanded exemplary punishment for them. A large number of school children also came to see the damage, unprecedented in the assembly's history.

Shocked and enraged at the incident, the speaker, for the first time in the long history of the house, issued the order that said the House would be flung open to public for three days to allow them to see the damage.

"This would hopefully help them to know a little more about the role of their representatives in the House," Mr Halim said and hinted that stringent disciplinary action awaited those MLAs.

Left Front Chairman Biman Bose, who also visited the Assembly, was visibly angry at seeing the damage.

Talking to waiting newsmen he urged the voters in all the 30 constituencies which had elected AITC legislators,to assess the role of their representatives. ''After seeing the damage they will never commit the same mistake of electing these people,'' Mr Bose commented.

Regarding the impact of today's bandh he said except in some small pockets in South Bengal, it had no effect anywhere in the state.

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