Kolkata: The West Bengal Assembly Tuesday plunged into bedlam with ruling Trinamool Congress and Left members coming to blows and the Speaker suspending three Left MLAs, while three injured members were taken to hospital.
Gouranga Chatterjee, a CPI(M) MLA who received head injuries was taken to hospital as also two TMC MLAs Mahmuda Begum who was hit in the chest and Pulok Roy who was injured in the leg.
Tempers ran high after Left members who tried to bring an adjournment motion on the mushrooming of chit funds in the state rushed to Speaker Biman Banerjee's podium and started shouting slogans.
Senior ministers Partha Chatterjee, Subrata Mukherjee and Firhad Hakim shielded the Speaker as Left members continued to shout slogans.
Subsequently a section of TMC and Left MLAs rushed to to the well and came face to face, with Chatterjee and Hakim trying to separate them.
There was pandemonium as CPI(M) member Nazmul Haque snatched away the microphone of the Speaker who adjourned the House till 1:30 pm.
Congress members who were asked to join in the protests by the Left, did not did so.
Trouble broke out again after the House reassembled.
Parliamentary Affairs minister Partha Chatterjee demanded that action be taken against Left legislators who insulted the Speaker and snatched away his microphone.
The Speaker thereafter suspended three Left MLAs Nazmul Haque, Sushanta Besra and Amjad Hussain.
One Left member, the lone Jharkhand Party MLA Deblina Hembram and a TMC member were seen engaged in a heated verbal exchange.
Subsequently, a free for all ensued in the House with members of TMC and Left coming to blows.
With PTI inputs
First Published: Tuesday, December 11, 2012, 15:09