Kamal Kumar Biswas.TOD.Balurghat
Supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday evening blocked National Highway 512 in the Kamarpara area of Balurghat, in the Dakshin Dinajpur district, protesting what they described as the public humiliation of their party’s MLA and renowned economist, Ashok Kumar Lahiri.
The demonstration followed an exchange in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly during a discussion on the state’s vote-on-account budget. According to BJP leaders, Mr.Ashok Kumar Lahiri was subjected to personal attacks and “undignified language” by Chandrima Bhattacharya, the Minister of State for Finance, after he delivered what they characterized as a fact-based and reasoned critique of the budget.
Party workers and supporters gathered in large numbers at Kamarpara, raising slogans and briefly disrupting traffic on the highway to register their protest. They accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of stifling dissent and resorting to personal attacks when confronted with substantive criticism in the Assembly.“This was not just an attack on Ashok Kumar Lahiri as an individual, but an insult to democratic debate and to the people of Balurghat,” said Jayanta Pramanik, the BJP’s district vice-president in Dakshin Dinajpur. “We will not remain silent when our elected representative is abused for speaking the truth.”
The protest ended after police intervention, and traffic movement was later restored. There was no immediate response from the state government or Ms. Bhattacharya regarding the allegations.Mr.Ashok Kumar Lahiri, a chief economic adviser , represents the Balurghat constituency and is known for his work as an economist. The incident has added to the growing political tensions between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress in the state Assembly.
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