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NEW DELHI: The BJP in Bengal has unleashed a fresh offensive against the appoitment of Mukul Roy as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee by chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Mukul Roy, who had won the assembly elections on a BJP ticket, is now with the Trianmool camp.
Eight BJP legislators on Tuesday resigned as heads of various assembly panels in protest against Roy’s appointment. A BJP delegation also visited Raj Bhavan to apprise Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar of the “blatant violation of democratic norms by the ruling party” and seek his intervention.
As per norms, a legislator of the main opposition party is made the chairperson of PAC, which keeps a tab on government spending.
Mukul Roy is in the Trinamool camp, but technically he is still a BJP MLA as he has not yet resigned from his assembly seat.
The BJP has already petitioned the speaker for Roy’s disqualification and the hearing is scheduled to be held on July 16.
Manoj Tigga, one of the BJP MLAs who quit, said: “Roy’s appointment is undemocratic and a naked display of partisan politics. In protest, we have decided to step down.”
Leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari also objected to Roy’s elevation, arguing that Mukul Roy cannot be considered a legislator of the saffron camp.
However, the Trinamool Congress rejected the charges levelled by the BJP.
“Appointments for any assembly panel should be left to the discretion of the speaker, who did go by the rule in this case,” said Tapas Roy, the TMC deputy chief whip in the House.
Slamming the BJP, he said “It has to be kept in mind that the BJP had been plotting to topple democratically elected governments all over the country to capture power. They don’t have any right to speak on democratic values.”
Meanwhile, to step up pressure on the West Bengal assembly speaker, the state BJP wants to meet President Ram Nath Kovind and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and submit a memorandum “describing how democracy is being throttled by the TMC in West Bengal with post-poll violence and unfair practices in the assembly”.
BJP MLAs had staged a walkout in the assembly on July 9 after Roy was made the chief of PAC.
“This government does not let the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) conduct audits. It just wants its own people to know where it is spending,” Adhikari had said at a press meet after the walkout.
He further said that BJP had pitched economist and party MLA Ashok Lahiri as PAC chairperson, but the speaker went by TMC’s recommendation and appointed Roy.
(With inputs from PTI)
Eight BJP legislators on Tuesday resigned as heads of various assembly panels in protest against Roy’s appointment. A BJP delegation also visited Raj Bhavan to apprise Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar of the “blatant violation of democratic norms by the ruling party” and seek his intervention.
As per norms, a legislator of the main opposition party is made the chairperson of PAC, which keeps a tab on government spending.
Mukul Roy is in the Trinamool camp, but technically he is still a BJP MLA as he has not yet resigned from his assembly seat.
The BJP has already petitioned the speaker for Roy’s disqualification and the hearing is scheduled to be held on July 16.
Manoj Tigga, one of the BJP MLAs who quit, said: “Roy’s appointment is undemocratic and a naked display of partisan politics. In protest, we have decided to step down.”
Leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari also objected to Roy’s elevation, arguing that Mukul Roy cannot be considered a legislator of the saffron camp.
However, the Trinamool Congress rejected the charges levelled by the BJP.
“Appointments for any assembly panel should be left to the discretion of the speaker, who did go by the rule in this case,” said Tapas Roy, the TMC deputy chief whip in the House.
Slamming the BJP, he said “It has to be kept in mind that the BJP had been plotting to topple democratically elected governments all over the country to capture power. They don’t have any right to speak on democratic values.”
Meanwhile, to step up pressure on the West Bengal assembly speaker, the state BJP wants to meet President Ram Nath Kovind and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and submit a memorandum “describing how democracy is being throttled by the TMC in West Bengal with post-poll violence and unfair practices in the assembly”.
BJP MLAs had staged a walkout in the assembly on July 9 after Roy was made the chief of PAC.
“This government does not let the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) conduct audits. It just wants its own people to know where it is spending,” Adhikari had said at a press meet after the walkout.
He further said that BJP had pitched economist and party MLA Ashok Lahiri as PAC chairperson, but the speaker went by TMC’s recommendation and appointed Roy.
(With inputs from PTI)
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