The CPI(M) legislature party, comprising 11 MLAs, has decided to boycott the remaining budget session of the Tripura Assembly, which will conclude on April 1. The decision was announced by the Leader of the Opposition and CPI(M) state secretary, Jiten Chowdhury, in a press briefing at the assembly.
Chowdhury accused Speaker Biswabandhu Sen of rejecting his privilege motion against Minister for Power and Agriculture Ratan Lal Nath in an “arbitrary” manner. The privilege motion was submitted after Nath allegedly made racial remarks against Chowdhury during a session on Monday.
“The speaker is acting like a BJP leader instead of presiding over the house impartially,” Chowdhury said, adding that opposition voices were consistently being ignored. He further alleged that the speaker was running the house under the influence of Parliamentary Affairs Minister Nath.
“We cannot be silent witnesses to this murder of democracy,” Chowdhury asserted. “We hope they realize their mistake and restore democratic norms.”
However, Ratan Lal Nath denied making any racial slurs, claiming that CPI(M) had misinterpreted his statements. “Your provocations won’t work. I never used any racial slur,” Nath countered.
