West Bengal Assembly demands repeal of farm laws, Mamata Banerjee taunts BJP

The West Bengal Legislative Assembly passed a resolution on Thursday demanding repeal of the three contentious farm laws passed by the Centre and extending its support to the protesting farmers.

Speaking on the resolution on the second day of the two-day special assembly session chief minister Mamata Banerjee said that either the Centre should withdraw the farm-laws or step down from power.

Later in the day at a function in the Trinamool Congress headquarters, Banerjee underlined that demand. “Interest of farmers cannot be compromised. Either you (Modi) withdraw the laws or step down,” she said

She also said that there could be ideological differences between the political parties, but it was imperative that every party should unanimously support the farmers. She urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call a virtual meeting of all chief ministers.

“When everybody was scared to speak up after the Delhi incident, I said the farmers are not at fault. They are maligning the farmers. The government of India is responsible. It was due to your (Centre) intelligence failure,” the chief minister said.

So far, five non-BJP-ruled states - Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Kerala and Delhi - have passed resolutions in their respective assemblies against the contentious farm laws.

Banerjee also took a swipe at the BJP over the violence during the farmers’ tractor rally in the national capital, saying, “First tackle Delhi, then think of Bengal”.

“The Prime Minister should resign. The home minister should resign. Today I passed a resolution in the assembly. Two or three BJP legislators came to oppose the resolution. When they were asked by the Speaker to speak, they stood quietly. So, I delivered a strong speech, and they fled the house. The BJP will try to malign me. But I know you are there to protect me,” Banerjee told members of the non-Bengali communities at the function.

Earlier in the day, BJP legislators trooped into the well of the assembly and raised slogans. Later they staged a walkout shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’.

“This is unconstitutional and against the federal structure of the nation. The language which she used was in bad taste,” Manoj Tigga BJP MLA told reporters later.

Leader of the Opposition and senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan said that the TMC government does not have any moral authority to bring a resolution against the Centre’s farm laws as the state too had passed similar laws a few years back.

Members of the Left parties and the Congress also rushed to the well of the House in protest against certain comments by minister Tapas Roy when he was speaking about the Victoria Memorial controversy.

The controversy had blown up at a programme to celebrate Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's birth anniversary at Victoria Memorial after Jai Shri Ram slogans were raised from the audience prompting Mamata Baneree not to speak.

Speaker Biman Banerjee ordered that the objectionable words used by Roy against some members of the Left parties and the Congress be expunged.