Kolkata, February 7: The West Bengal Assembly witnessed chaos on Saturday during the final day of the budget session. The ruling party introduced a privilege motion against BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul, a former fashion designer turned politician. This motion was in response to comments she made on Friday that allegedly hurt the sentiments of minority communities.
Following the introduction of the privilege motion by State Agriculture and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, BJP legislators began to protest.
BJP MLA Mihir Goswami stated that their legislator sought to clarify her statement. After receiving permission from the Speaker, she provided her explanation. However, the privilege motion was still presented, reportedly at the insistence of cabinet members from the minority community.
Initially, BJP members protested within the Assembly, later continuing their demonstrations outside, chanting slogans in the assembly grounds.
Assembly Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay has referred the privilege motion to the Assembly’s Privilege Committee, which will determine the next steps in this matter.
On the same day, the West Bengal government proposed to rename Murshidabad University to Maharaja Krishnath University, a motion that was passed.
Murshidabad University was established by upgrading Krishnath College under the Murshidabad University Act of 2018. Krishnath College, one of West Bengal’s oldest and most prestigious higher education institutions, was founded in 1853 in Berhampore. It was established by Maharaja Krishnath to promote social reform, education, and cultural coordination.
Renaming the university after him gives it a distinctive and proud historical identity, setting it apart from other state universities and firmly establishing it in the correct historical context.