Oppn members stage walkout demanding CM's arrest

Kolkata, Mar 19: The Nandigram incident continued to rock the West Bengal Assembly today as opposition members walked out of the house separately demanding Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's arrest and a discussion on the issue.

Determined to stall the Assembly proceedings, Trinamool Congress members created a pandemonium in the house as soon as it began for the Question Hour.

Sounding bugles, playing flutes and rasing slogans, they disrupted the proceedings holding posters demanding the chief minister's arrest owning responsibility for the killing of villagers in Nandigram.

As Transport Minister Subash Chakraborty was replying to a question, he was surrounded by the agitated Trinamol members, who kept booing and howling, drowning everything in din.

Though Speaker Hasim Abdul Halim did not adjourn the house, nothing of the proccedings was audible.

Lone SUCI member Debaprasad Sarkar had walked out at the beginning.

Meanwhile, Congress Legislature Party leader Manas Bhuiyan and chief whip Asit Mal wanted to raise a point of order on the Nandigram issue, which the speaker disallowed prompting the Congress to stage a walkout.

As soon as the mention period began, the Trinamool members also staged a noisy walkout demanding the chief minister's arrest.

UNI