BJP MP Sambit Patra (left) and TMC MP Satabdi Roy (right)
New Delhi: Heated exchanges between Trinamool Congress and BJP MPs were witnessed in the Lok Sabha on Friday after TMC’s Satabdi Roy said Bangla-speaking people are being deported to Bangladesh and asserted that language cannot be a consideration for authorities for taking such steps.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the House in Bangla, Roy referred to the case of a person being deported to Bangladesh from Odisha.
When Krishna Prasad Tenneti, chairing the proceedings, asked Roy to place her demand, she continued speaking. When the time allocated to her was over, her microphone was switched off.
As Jugal Kishore of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) started speaking after her, Roy, along with fellow TMC MP Mahua Moitra, rushed across to Kishore’s seat and started speaking in his microphone.
Tenneti urged Roy to return to her seat, saying Kishore’s seat is not her place. BJP MP Jagdambika Pal was seen trying to convince the agitated TMC members to return to their seats.
Later, when Roy was allowed to conclude her speech, she said if Bangla-speaking people can be sent to Bangladesh, then those from the BJP should be sent to Pakistan for speaking Hindi and Urdu, leading to a fresh uproar.
When BJP MP Sambit Patra’s turn came, he countered Roy.
“This is not based on facts…. This is false, this is untrue. Odisha has, since ancient times, moved forward by taking all states along. Bengali-speaking people are our brothers and those who speak Bengali…. We consider them as our own…. But neither the Odisha government nor any MP or MLA of Odisha has any place in their heart for infiltrators — for Bangladeshis or Rohingyas — to be allowed space in Odisha,” he said.
“I want to tell the TMC MP that what she said today that those who speak Hindi or Urdu should go to Pakistan is very wrong and should be withdrawn. And the kind of language she used for the chief minister of Odisha, I demand protection (from the Chair) on this. Yes, Bengalis are our brothers, but Bangladeshis and Rohingyas have no place in Odisha,” Patra said.
This post was last modified on December 5, 2025 6:45 pm