He was reacting to reports that the TMC had held “separate” talks with the Speaker over seat allotment.
TMC floor leaders condemned the report as a “dirty ploy by the BJP” and maintained that the party is part of the Indian Union and has been in the opposition alliance since day one of the 18th Lok Sabha. “Any claims of an independent line to contest the Speaker and seat are out of the question,” Bandopadhyay said.
He told TOI, “The TMC has not demanded any seats. I have received a letter from the Congress secretariat stating the seat numbers allotted to us. I have discussed the matter with Mamata Banerjee and submitted the list two days ago (Friday). It has already been submitted and there is no dispute on it.”
“We sent back a list showing the internal seating arrangement as per the seniority of the Lok Sabha members and based on the numbers allotted we prepared the list,” he added.
Reacting strongly to the reports, TMC Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien said, “TMC condemns such dirty tactics and fake news by the BJP and a section of media. Our parliamentary seats belong to the India camp. We have been provided by the Speaker’s office with a list of seats which are in the same area as the Opposition (India) camp.”
Bandopadhyay will be the only TMC member sitting in seat number 278 in the first row. Seats 280 and 281 in the second row will be reserved for deputy leader Kalyan Banerjee and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. Two seats in the third row (284 and 285) will be reserved for veteran Congress leaders Saugata Roy and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar. Two seats in the fourth row (288 and 289) will be reserved for Mahua Moitra and Satabdi Roy.
