An opposition TMC legislator ran away with the Speaker’s mace to draw his attention.
On the last day of the winter session on Monday, Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman and other members of the opposition raised the issues of an alleged sex scandal involving state forest minister Naresh Jamatia as well as Agartala Municipal Corporation councilor Mrinmoy Sen’s involvement in a molestation case.
After Speaker Ramendra Chandra Nath didn’t allow them to continue, opposition members from Congress and Trinamool Congress stood up to protest and trooped into the Well.
Roy Barman went a step ahead and suddenly lifted the Speaker’s mace and ran away. He later gave it to Marshal Arun Das. Amid the ensuing pandemonium, Nath adjourned the House till 2pm and all the opposition MLAs staged a walk-out.
When the house reassembled after the recess, Debnath criticised the act saying “this is against parliamentary traditions, practice and procedure”.
Earlier, Barman, referring to media reports and an expelled Communist Party of India-Marxist leader’s allegation, raised the “womanising” issue against the Forests Minister and demanded his resignation.
Jamatia, however, strongly refuted the allegation and told the house that he has already filed a case in a local court against the newspaper.
Since Tripura become a full-fledged state in January 1972, incidents of running away with the symbolic silver mace by opposition legislators in the midst of an assembly sitting has occurred thrice.
