Members of Trinamool Congress and Telugu Desam Party were engaged in an ugly spat on Tuesday in Parliament over the allotment of an office. The trouble started when Trinamool MPs captured Room No.5, which was allotted to them on August 6, but which was being used by the TDP for the last 30 years.
Members of the two sides virtually came to blows when TDP MPs recaptured the room. The issue will now be resolved by the Speaker of the lok Sabha. As the Trinamool had more than 40 MPs, the Speaker allotted the spacious room on the ground floor to the party on August 6. But the TDP asked the Speaker to reconsider this decision and refused to move to a smaller room on the third floor.
The tussle started when the name plates of TDP leaders displayed on the outer wall of Room No.5 were found missing on Monday evening. TDP MPs complained to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan about this incident and alleged that Trinamool leaders were behind this “uncultured behaviour”
On Tuesday afternoon, Trinamool members Sudip Bandopadhyaya, Kalyan Banerjee and Sultan Ahmed entered the room and got their nameplates installed outside. They also held a brief meeting inside the room at around 2.30 pm. However, half-an-hour later, TDP MPs arrived there and reinstalled the nameplates of their party leaders YS Chowdhary, Thota Narsimhan and CM Ramesh.
Talking to reporters, Chowdhary said they will meet the Speaker over the “hooliganism” of Trinamool members. “Trinamool’s uncultured approach and hooliganism has led to this,” Chowdhary said. Asked about the controversy, TDP lok Sabha MP Narayana Rao said: “We have been occupying the room for the last 30 years ... A few of our name plates were removed. It is not democratic.”
Pointing out that the party has 25 MPs in the lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha combined, he said that while the members should follow the rules set by the Speaker, “removing name plates is not democratic”. The letter of allotment issued by DS Malha, a Director in the lok Sabha Secretariat, states that as approved by the competent authority, Room No.5 has been allotted to Trinamool for the tenure of the 16th lok Sabha. The letter asks Trinamool to take occupancy of the room and notify the same.
Meanwhile, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, who is the Trinamool’s floor leader in the lok Sabha, said his party’s MPs had “peacefully” taken possession of the room. “No forcible occupation. We did it peacefully. We went there and sat (for a) while as we took possession,” he said. “There was no tension, no talk of differences. Trinamool went to take possession of the room (after) receiving the letter from the Speaker’s office. The Speaker’s office directed us to take possession of the room allotted to us. We are 46 MPs and went accordingly,” he added.
In 2009 also, Room No.5 was a bone of contention between the occupant TDP and DMK, which sought a big room citing their increased number of MPs. That time there was an agreement between parties not to change the existing rooms, based on the strength of MPs. According to senior officials, the final decision about this spacious room will be taken by the Speaker.