Kolkata: Expelled Trinamool MLA Ritabrata Banerjee, the leader of opposition chosen by the rebel group, demanded a floor test to decide which group was the "real Trinamool". This came after no Mamata Banerjee-loyalist MLA received an invite for Bengal assembly's first all-party meeting on Tuesday, ahead of the budget session.
The all-party meeting convened by speaker Rathindra Bose included MLAs of all parties, including rebel TMC lawmakers. No representative of the loyalist bloc, however, received an invite.
After the meeting, Ritabrata said, "Let there be a floor test. We have the numbers." When asked about any merger plan on the lines of rebel MPs merging with NCPI, Ritabrata said, "Ours is a collective fight against individual cults. Only when we meet collectively will I be able to tell you what we will do."
While Ritabrata, Sandipan Saha and Javed Ahmed Khan represented the rebel TMC bloc at the meet, Nawsad Siddique of ISF, Motab Shaikh of Congress, Humayun Kabir of AJUP and Mostafizur Rahaman of CPM attended the meeting. "Each opposition party was present in the meeting. There was a notification from the assembly and the opposition bloc was also present. The leader of the opposition and chief whip of the opposition (Akhruzzaman) was also there," said parliamentary affairs minister Shankar Ghosh.
Mamata-loyalist MLA Kunal Ghosh said on Monday that Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, earlier nominated as the leader of the opposition, had not received an invitation. "I don't think Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay received an invitation to attend the all-party meeting. The speaker invited a shadow leader of the opposition. He has not been seen for a day helping party workers facing violence and legal troubles. He has actually been nominated by the speaker for his convenience," Kunal said.
Reacting to this, Shankar said, "We have seen how the previous govt suspended then leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari nine times. ISF was never invited to all-party meetings. This govt's approach is inclusive."
In the meeting, however, Ritabrata was asked about the name of the party he is representing after the speaker addressed him as the LOP. Ritabrata evaded the question.
Speaking on this later, AJUP's Humayun Kabir said, "Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha have not even submitted a letter on the party's letterhead. Yet, Ritabrata was accepted as the leader of the opposition."
"We are calling them a nameless party. Hopefully they get a name by the time assembly starts," said CPM's Mostafizur Rahman.
