Bedlam in Bengal House over 'language terrorism'

NEW DELHI: A party that has unleashed 'language terrorism' and tortured Bengalis would never win in Bengal, CM Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday, the concluding day of the special assembly session convened to protest against attacks on Bengalis in BJP-governed states.Banerjee unleashed a multi-pronged attack on Centre on Thursday, slamming it on the language issue as well as its foreign policy - which she said, had led to the country "throwing itself at the US, Russia, China, and Israel's feet" - and the "vote-theft" issue, prompting BJP MLAs to go down to the House's well and launch a high-decibel protest.Several minutes of bedlam followed, with House marshals having to separate BJP and Trinamool legislators.

They also dragged out BJP chief whip Shankar Ghosh; he and four other BJP MLAs - Agnimitra Paul, Mihir Goswami, Bankim Ghosh and Ashok Dinda - were also suspended for causing sustained disruptions. Banerjee herself had to come down to the well to restrain some of her Trinamool colleagues, who protested against BJP's refusal to allow her to speak.

The resolution against the continuing harassment & abuse of Bengalis in BJP-governed states was passed by a voice vote.

"Vote chor, gaddi chhor! They torture Bengalis. Bengali is not a foreign language. Those who hate Bengal are anti-Bengali and anti-national. They mislead and deceive people," Banerjee said, calling BJP "a national embarrassment" and "the biggest thief.""...Bengal gave its blood during the freedom struggle. This party (BJP) was not even born then," she added, accusing it "of doing dalali for British then". Banerjee called Thursday's ruckus "a dark day in the assembly's history."