AGARTALA, June 21 - Tripura Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ratan Lal Nath today surprised all the members of the State Assembly, including his party colleagues, by justifying the use of the epithet, �anti-national and seditious,� against the Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar.
MLA Biswabandhu Sen (elected as Deputy Speaker on Thursday) had alleged that Manik Sarkar and his party, CPI (M), are anti national and seditious, triggering uproarious scenes in the Assembly that ultimately led to a walkout by the Opposition members yesterday.
The Parliamentary Affairs Minister raked up the issue again today by referring to a handbook for members of the House and said that words like �anti-national� and �seditious� are not among the unparliamentary words mentioned in the handbook.
�The words, anti-national and seditious, may be controversial but they are not in the list of unparliamentary words as per the handbook. I appeal to all the members to go through the book to be well acquainted with the parliamentary procedure and etiquette,� Nath said.
He also cited examples of unparliamentary words including �dog,� �total lie,� �lie� and �rubbish�, exhorting the members not to use these words in the House.
When contacted, MP and CPI (M) central committee member Jitendra Chowdhury reacted sharply to the allegation brought against Opposition leader Manik Sarkar and the party. �Those who are using such unparliamentary language in the Assembly, considered a sacred place of democracy, do not know anything about Sarkar�s background and his party. Their political knowledge is dismal,� said the five-time MLA and former minister.
