Assam Speaker warns BJP MLA for abuse, CM apologises as House leader

Guwahati: Assam Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary on Monday warned BJP MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi over his behaviour last week when he verbally abused opposition legislators and tried to target them physically inside the House.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma apologised on behalf of his party colleague and urged him to be more composed in future, saying the incident should not have escalated to this extent.

The day began with high drama as Congress MLAs arrived at the Assembly wearing black outfits in protest.

They staged a sit-in demonstration in the corridor, blocking access to the Speaker and Deputy Speaker's chambers.

Leader of the Opposition, Debabrata Saikia, and other Congress legislators were forcibly removed by Marshals to clear the passage.

Meanwhile, AIUDF MLAs entered the Assembly carrying three small bamboo fences, claiming they needed them for "self-protection" against ruling party members.

Shockingly, security personnel initially allowed them to bring the fences inside, but later confiscated them from the building’s ground floor.

On Sunday, the Congress demanded that Daimary initiate a Breach of Privilege motion against Kurmi over his action against fellow legislators.

All Congress MLAs attended the session in protest against the BJP MLA and inaction of the Deputy Speaker Numal Momin, who was in the Chair when Kurmi had charged the opposition members.

As soon as the House assembled to start the day's business, the Leader of the Opposition raised the issue and asked Daimary about the status of the Privilege Motion notice.

"It has been 48 hours since we gave the application. It's related to our security. The next day we were threatened with 10 times more violent action against us by Kurmi," he added.

Reacting to the charges, Sarma said the opposition is deliberately cornering Kurmi because he represents the "oppressed and exploited" tea garden community.

"The AIUDF brought bamboo fences to the Assembly. This is a weapon. If such things happen, police will start frisking the legislators at the gate of the Assembly complex. Such a situation had never occurred in history, including during the peak period of ULFA," he added.

On this, AIUDF members opposed and said the CM was issuing police threats on the legislators, who came with the fences only to protect themselves from "attacking MLAs".

After the Question Hour, Daimary said, "I checked all the records as I was not in the House when the incident took place. All the unparliamentary words by Kurmi have been expunged. The Deputy Speaker had warned him and he apologised also."

Therefore, there was no need for a privilege motion and the matter should have ended on that day itself, he added.

"I warn Rupjyoti Kurmi not to repeat such behaviour in future. You (Kurmi) should not stoop to the level of personal attacks. You should maintain the dignity of the House," the Speaker said.

The Chief Minister also said both the government and the BJP condemned Kurmi for his behaviour and asked him to apologise.

"In his statement, Kurmi said that he was irritated by repeated disruption by the opposition. He represents an oppressed and exploited tea garden community and gets less time to speak," Sarma added.

The CM said the matter should not have escalated to this level, and warned Kurmi to be more careful and composed from next time.

"We as a party have expressed our regret on the incident. None of us are in favour of downgrading parliamentary proceedings. I, as a Leader of the House, apologise. Had I been present on that day, this would have escalated to this level," he added.

Sarma, however, said bringing a privilege motion against Kurmi to expel him from the House is an example of "slight chauvinism".

"I request the Speaker to end the matter here itself," he added.

Kurmi had got involved in a spat with opposition MLAs during a discussion in the House on Friday. He hurled verbal abuses at them that were later expunged from records of proceedings.

A former Congressman, Kurmi, who has been representing Mariani constituency since 2006, had switched over to the BJP in 2021.

BJP Assam president Dilip Saikia has already asked Kurmi to tender a public apology over the matter.