Ruckus in Assam Assembly as BJP alleges Deputy Speaker attac
Ruckus in Assam Assembly as BJP alleges Deputy Speaker attacked by Congress MLA
The Assam Assembly on Monday witnessed uproarious scenes with the ruling BJP alleging that Deputy Speaker Numal Momin was attacked by Congress MLA Nurul Huda just outside the House
Congress legislators wearing black clothes stage a protest
during the Budget session of Assam Assembly, in Guwahati, Monday, March 24,
2025. (PTI Photo)
GUWAHATI — The Assam Assembly on Monday witnessed uproarious scenes with the
ruling BJP alleging that Deputy Speaker Numal Momin was attacked by Congress
MLA Nurul Huda just outside the House, leading to adjournment.
Huda, however, claimed he did not assault Momin but blocked
the way to the House during a protest.
The Congress legislators attended the assembly wearing black
clothes to protest against BJP MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi, who verbally abused
opposition MLAs and tried to physically assault them inside the House last
week.
Congress legislators wearing black clothes stage a protest
during the Budget session of Assam Assembly, in Guwahati, Monday, March 24,
2025. (PTI Photo)
Before the session started, the Congress legislators held a
sit-in in the corridor leading to the Speaker and Deputy Speaker's chambers in
the assembly building demanding action against Kurmi.
"I received a WhatsApp message from Momin in which he
said he was attacked by Nurul Huda and he is now hospitalised. I request the
Speaker to register a police complaint as it happened outside the House and let
the police investigate the matter," Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma
said during the Question Hour.
Moments before that, Momin was seen sitting inside the House
and attending the session. He left the House after some time.
Speaker Biswajit Daimary said he has asked the officials to
check the matter.
Reacting to the CM's allegations, Leader of the Opposition
Debabrata Saikia demanded that instead of the police, a House Committee be
formed to investigate the matter as the incident was reported to have taken
place inside the assembly building.
Opposition MLAs of the Congress, AIUDF and CPI(M) trooped
into the Well of the House, showing placards and protesting against Kurmi and
the ruling party's statement regarding the alleged attack on Momin.
Led by Sarma, the treasury bench too countered, alleging
that Momin, a tribal, was attacked by the opposition.
"An attack on an indigenous tribal inside the assembly
complex will set a bad precedent. This is going to be a big issue," the CM
said.
With no side relenting, Daimary said that he had asked the
assembly secretary to check about Momin's status and adjourned the House for 10
minutes.
When the House reassembled, Daimary said he would speak to
Momin and had asked the officials to check CCTV footage of the alleged attack
before giving any judgement on the issue.
On this, Sarma said, "I agree with the LoP that a House
Committee should be formed to inquire the matter. If the Deputy Speaker files
an FIR, then police will carry out its investigation and take action."
He claimed that this was the first time in the history of
the Assam Assembly that a Deputy Speaker has been attacked by the opposition
MLAs.
At this time, Momin was seen entering the House with his
left wrist bandaged.
After Daimary requested Momin to narrate the incident, he
said that the opposition members were sitting in the corridor and there was no
space to enter the House from his chamber while the session was about to start.
"Huda and his party colleagues were protesting there.
There was some commotion and I got hurt at that moment. I have been an MLA for
nine years and Deputy Speaker for four years. I see everyone as equal and love
everyone. I don't know what was the issue," he added.
This was a very bad precedent of blocking the Deputy
Speaker's way while he was entering the House, Momin said.
"Either we need security in that space or we have to
block everyone's entry there. After entering the House, I saw that my hand was
bleeding. So, I went to the assembly pharmacy, was administered an injection,
got the wound dressed and took painkillers," he added.
After listening to Momin, the CM again urged the Speaker to
give a ruling after considering all sides of the incident.
Congress MLA Huda, on the other hand, claimed that he did
not attack the Deputy Speaker.
"We were all there protesting against Kurmi and wanted
to ask about our privilege notice. I swear, I did not hit him. We just blocked
the way to the House," he added.
The Speaker said the incident was "unfortunate"
and should not have taken place inside the assembly building at all.
"All should be careful in future and give respect to
fellow MLAs," he added.
