The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
TMC cold, INDIA bloc may not press for division in Lok Sabha Speaker vote
Growing sense a division may expose Opp does not have adequate numbers
WITH THE Trinamool Congress (TMC) keeping the INDIA bloc on tenterhooks over supporting its candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post, claiming it had not been “consulted”, there was a sense at a meeting held by the alliance on Tuesday evening to not push for a division on the vote and to agree to a voice vote.
Sources said it was SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav who suggested that the issue must not go to voting as the INDIA bloc does not have the numbers – a view said to be shared by the TMC.
At the meeting, which was attended by TMC MPS Derek O’brien and Kalyan Banerjee, a consensus was also reached among INDIA bloc members for better coordination on such issues. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi had a 20-minute-long telephonic conversation with TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee.
However, till late Tuesday, the TMC had not made its stand on backing the INDIA candidate clear, with sources saying the party will take a decision only by 9.30 am Wednesday.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and general secretary K C Venugopal were present at the meeting, along with representatives of other alliance parties,
Earlier Tuesday, after the NDA renominated Om Birla, who was the Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha, for the post, INDIA announced it was putting up eight-time Congress MP K Suresh. After Suresh filed his nomination papers, just before the deadline ended, TMC leaders suggested that the party had not been consulted on the issue.
The Congress denied this, saying it had called the TMC before making the move.
Taking a dig at Rahul, a senior TMC leader said: “We won 29 seats on our own in West Bengal... we were not a part of the INDIA alliance then. So, Rahul Gandhi shouldn’t have made a khata khat announcement, without consulting us.”
Sources said the TMC felt that a contest for the Speaker’s post would expose the Opposition’s inadequate numbers and the chinks in the INDIA armour.
The NDA, too, is learnt to have reached out to Mamata. Sources said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called Mamata Tuesday afternoon. “The two spoke about the issue of the Speaker and about the Opposition fielding a candidate against the BJP'S nominee,” a TMC leader said.
On Congress claims that a call had been made to the TMC leadership before the announcement, the leader said it came around 11.50 am – 10 minutes before the filing of nomination for the Speaker’s post was to end. “If you wish to invite me for your daughter’s wedding, you can’t be calling me on the morning of the wedding,” the leader said.
TMC leaders in Bengal slammed the “unilateral decision” by the congress and said ma ma ta was “upset”. Sources close to the CM said she was taken by “surprise”.
In the afternoon Tuesday, TMC national general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee held a meeting of all party parliamentarians at Parliament House where the Speaker issue was discussed, with the final decision left to Mamata.
In the Lok Sabha, Rahul personally reached out to Abhishek. Rahul was engaged in a chat with him lasting 15 minutes.