NEW DELHI: TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee on Tuesday defended his actions days after a scuffle broke out between him and BJP’s Abhijit Gangopadhyay during the Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting on the Waqf Bill. Banerjee smashed a glass bottle and hurled it towards the committee’s chairperson, BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, injuring himself in the process.
Banerjee accused BJP MP Gangopadhyay of abusing him following a heated exchange of words with Congress MP Syed Nasir Hussain.
“I have great respect for rules and regulations. Unfortunately, Abhijit Gangopadhyay made some allegations against me before the press in violation of the rules. That day, first, there was a heated exchange of words between Naseer and Abhijit Gangopadhyay,” Banerjee said.
“Then he started abusing me, my mother, my father, and my wife. At that time, the Chairman (of the JPC) was not present,” he added.
The TMC MP also accused JPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal of being biased towards Gangopadhyay, which frustrated Banerjee.
“When the Chairman (of the JPC) was not there, after he arrived, he was harsh towards me but soft towards him. This brought frustration to me. Then, I smashed the glass bottle on the table. I never intended to throw the bottle at the Chairman,” Banerjee further said.
“The Chairman has no power to suspend a member; only the Speaker does. Abhijit Gangopadhyay was the rotten advocate of the Calcutta High Court,” he added.
Banerjee reportedly lost his cool and smashed a glass water bottle after a heated exchange of words with the BJP MP. The TMC MP injured his thumb and index finger in the process and had to be given first aid.
He was later suspended for one day from the parliamentary committee for his unruly conduct after a resolution moved by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey was passed by a vote of 10-8.
The incident occurred when the committee, chaired by BJP’s Jagdambika Pal, was listening to the views of a group of retired judges and lawyers. Opposition members questioned what their stake was in the Waqf Bill.