Rivals' no-trust motion against govt

TT, Calcutta, Nov. 7: The Left Front today submitted a notice to table a no-confidence motion against the Mamata Banerjee government in the winter session of the Assembly that started from today.

With the Congress legislature party also deciding to follow suit by bringing a separate motion, the winter session, being held in the background of the recent spate of incidents from the CBI probe into the Saradha scam, Khagragarh blast and allegations of violence against the ruling party activists, could turn into a stormy one.

If Speaker Biman Banerjee allows them to be discussed on the floor, the Trinamul government would have to prove its strength on the floor of the House for the first time since it came to power in May 2011.

"The rule is that any party with at least 30 MLAs (10 per cent of the strength of the House) can bring a no confidence motion but finally the decision rests with the Speaker," said an Assembly staff.

Speaker Biman Banerjee said tonight that he would decide on allowing a discussion on the Congress-sponsored no-confidence motion after it is tabled.

"I will take a call after the no-confidence motions are tabled in the Assembly," Banerjee said.

Whatever be the Speaker's decision, it is for sure that all the three major Opposition parties, the Left Front, the Congress and the BJP (with one representative) have decided to nail the government on the deteriorating law and order situation, scams and terror modules operating from Bengal soil.

"We are moving the motion to highlight the current state of affairs in Bengal and the dismal record of the Trinamul government. If the motion is allowed we can record our protest against the ruling party on the floor of the House," said a Left Front MLA.

A CPM MLA said that they had earlier tried to raise issues like the Saradha scam but were not allowed.

"If the discussion is allowed, our MLAs speaking on the motion will raise the Saradha scam, the Burdwan blast and the violence prevailing in the state," said the MLA.

Congress legislature party leader Mohammad Sohrab clarified that the party wanted to use the no-confidence motion as a political weapon to hit out at the ruling party.

"Even we are aware that with our strength we would not be able to topple the government. That is not our objective. We will use the floor of the House to voice the concerns of the common people," said Sohrab.

The Congress has another objective behind the no confidence motion, said a source, while adding that the party wants to expose the five defectors to Trinamul - Asit Mal, Gholam Rabbani, Sushil Roy, Emani Biswas and Umapada Bauri - and cancellation of their membership from the Assembly.

As part of the preparation, the Congress leadership has issued a whip to all the members, including the defectors, and asked them to be present on Tuesday, when the motion would be tabled.

"If the five legislators do not follow the whip, we will request the speaker to cancel their membership," said a Congress leader.

When contacted, rebel Congress Goalpokhor MLA Ghulam Rabbani said they would discuss with the Trinamul leadership their presence in the House during tabling of the Congress-sponsored no-confidence motion.

"I have been informed about the whip. We will decide after holding talks with the Trinamul leadership," said Rabbani.

The state panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee dismissed the Opposition's decision to move a no-confidence motion.

"We have 191 MLAs. Why should we bother about these no-confidence motions?" asked Mukherjee.

Mamata Banerjee, who spoke with her party MLAs for around three minutes, did not discuss the no-confidence motion.

"Mamatadi told us that no MLA should speak before the media... She also asked us to go to the people with the government's development programmes and prepare for the elections," said an MLA.

When the Trinamul was in the Opposition with mere 30-odd MLAs, during the last term of the Left rule, the party had managed to disrupt Assembly proceedings holding protests daily inside the House.

The lone BJP legislator Samik Bhattacharya said his party would take the call on whether he would participate in no-confidence motion tabled by the rivals, the Left and the Congress.

"I will do as the party instructs. As the lone MLA from my party I will raise law and order, infiltration and anti-national activities being carried out from the state's soil. The ruling party activists are attacking our supporters," said Bhattacharya.