Reacting quickly after Tripura Assembly Speaker Ramchandra Debnath rejected the Congress’ plea to disqualify six of its MlAs for defecting to the Trinamool Congress, its senior leader Mukul Roy on Monday said the TMC would soon demand the status of the principal Opposition party of that State.
Roy who was speaking to the newsmen in Kolkata said “after the honourable Speaker of Tripura rejected the Congress’ claim there is no bar for the Trinamool MlAs to seek the status of principal opposition party and we will soon do so.”
In a 60-member House the Trinamool has six members all of whom defected from the Congress in the wake of that party striking an alliance with the left in Bengal. The Congress is now left with four members is likely to lose the Opposition status.
Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee had recently visited Tripura and had given a call to remove the ruling CPI(M) from that State in order to bring development.
“The people of Bengal are getting Rs 2-a-kg rice, our girls are getting free cycles and scholarships, we have constructed a large number of super-specialty hospitals in remote areas. But the left has done nothing in your State. If you want a similar development in this State you vote for us.”
Party sources said Roy would visit Tripura in the first week of September to sort out things for the new party there.