Agartala: Mar 27: Tripura’s Leader of Opposition (LoP), Jitendra Chaudhary, raised serious procedural concerns on Thursday, accusing the Speaker of the Tripura Legislative Assembly of violating assembly rules by dismissing his privilege motion against Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ratan Lal Nath. Chaudhary addressed the issue at a press conference, stating that the Speaker rejected his motion based on the argument that a similar motion, submitted by the Minister’s Private Secretary (PS) against a local newspaper, had already been received. Chaudhary, however, challenged this reasoning, citing specific rules from the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Tripura Legislative Assembly.
According to these rules, a privilege motion must be submitted in writing to the Assembly Secretary before the day’s sitting, and if it pertains to a document, a copy or the original document must be attached. The application must also go through the Receipt and Dispatch Section of the Assembly. Chaudhary pointed out that the Speaker had accepted the letter from the Private Secretary of Minister Ratan Lal Nath without following these official procedures, thus invalidating the prior privilege motion filed by the Minister.
Chaudhary demanded that the motion submitted by Ratan Lal Nath be nullified due to procedural lapses and insisted that his own motion against the Minister should be considered instead. This development has led to fresh political tensions within the Assembly, drawing attention to the Speaker’s impartiality and his handling of motions.
The opposition CPIM had already protested the final day of the Budget Session, accusing Speaker Biswabandhu Sen of acting in a partisan manner. The protests also stemmed from earlier allegations of racial remarks made by Minister Ratan Lal Nath against Chaudhary, adding to the growing political discord in the state.
