Bengal Assembly suspends Marshal of the House for ‘inappropriate’ behaviour

Kolkata, Aug 5 (IANS) West Bengal Assembly Secretariat on Wednesday announced the suspension of Marshal Debabrata Mukhopadhyay following complaints from several legislators accusing him of ‘inappropriate’ behaviour in the House.

According to several present and former legislators, this is the first time in the history of the West Bengal Assembly that any serving Marshal has been suspended on charges of alleged dereliction of duty and inappropriate conduct towards the members of the House while the House was in session.

The suspension order was issued by the Assembly Secretariat on Tuesday evening, and the information about it surfaced on Wednesday afternoon.

In the first week of July, the West Bengal Assembly organised a two-day orientation programme for the newly-elected legislators, which was chaired by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Assembly insiders said that several legislators had complained against Mukhopadhyay about his inappropriate conduct towards members of the House during that orientation programme.

It is learnt that besides suspending Mukhopadhyay, a departmental probe will also be conducted against him.

“The next course of disciplinary proceedings against him will be adopted only after the report on the findings of the departmental probe is submitted,” said an Assembly insider.

The role of the Marshal is quite important and prestigious as per the Assembly protocol. The main task of the Marshal is to assist the Speaker of the House with daily procedural duties, maintain order during disruptions, escort the chair into the chamber, and handle official documents.

While maintaining order in the House, the Marshal stands near the podium or forms a protective barrier when members create chaos or rush towards the Speaker’s desk. His document management assignments include providing urgent files, bills, or notes to the presiding officer during an ongoing session. The Marshal also keeps track of members to help the chair during proceedings when the House is in session.

–IANS

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