Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday accused the CPM and the Trinamool Congress, without naming either party, of throttling democracy, with particular focus on the last five years of the Mamata Banerjee regime.
“During the first 34 years, everything was run through the party office,” Suvendu said while addressing the two-day orientation programme for the newly elected MLAs in New Town on Friday.
“I was the leader of the Opposition for the last five years, yet I was not invited to a single administrative review meeting. I was suspended from the Assembly five times. Out of 60 months, I spent nearly eleven-and-a-half months outside the Assembly as the leader of the Opposition. Whenever the budget session or any other important session came up, I was suspended,” he said, explaining how democracy was throttled during the last five years of the Mamata Banerjee regime.
He said the dignity of elected representatives came under challenge during the last five years, alleging that Opposition MLAs had not been invited to government programmes anywhere in the state.
“Bengal was never in such a poor state. This is not a matter of criticism. It is not proper for a chief minister to criticise a state. But I want to say that the situation had become such that neither MLAs nor MPs had any dignity. A block development officer (BDO) or even the officer-in-charge (OC) of a police station would not answer an MLA’s phone call,” said Suvendu, who defeated Mamata in the 2021 and 2026 Assembly elections.
“Whether it was a state or central government function, a foundation stone-laying ceremony or an inauguration, you (MLAs) were not invited to any of them. Some MLAs did receive invitations, but those were based on their political affiliations,” he added, while recalling the role of Syama Prasad Mukherjee in the formation of present-day West Bengal.
Suvendu said that after the BJP government was formed, discrimination against Opposition MLAs ended, referring to how his government was giving equal importance to legislators sitting on the Opposition benches.
“In the past one-and-a-half months, I held five administrative review meetings. I invited members of the Opposition as well as those from the ruling party. In our budget, development works proposed by Opposition MLAs have also been accommodated alongside those of the ruling party MLAs,” the chief minister said.
At the inaugural session of the two-day orientation programme, several dignitaries, including Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, were present. A series of technical sessions has been designed to cover key aspects of legislative work at the programme, which will conclude
on Saturday.
Birla message
Om Birla urged the MLAs to regularly study previous debates, landmark legislations and best parliamentary practices from across India and the world.
Birla said continuous learning, openness to new ideas and constant self-improvement were essential qualities of an effective public representative. He advised the newly elected MLAs to become the voice of the marginalised people of the society.
“I hope that in the coming days, you will understand the aspirations of the common people of Bengal and transform the lives of the marginalised sections of society. Our vision is to become the voice of the poor people who elected and sent you here,”
Birla said.
The Speaker also advised members to spend as much time as possible inside the Legislative Assembly, irrespective of whether they were scheduled to speak. Listening carefully to the debates, arguments and viewpoints of fellow members, he said, enriches legislative understanding and helps build informed
leadership.
Birla observed that India looked toward Bengal with great expectations and expressed confidence that the state would once again emerge as a leading centre of cultural renaissance, innovation and economic growth.