A fresh confrontation broke out between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and West Bengal Assembly Speaker Tapas Roy on Tuesday after the Speaker’s secretariat allegedly refused to accept a letter from the opposition party regarding appointments to key positions in the House.
The letter, purportedly signed by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, informed the Speaker that the party had appointed Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of Opposition, Ashima Patra and Nayana Bandyopadhyay as Deputy Leaders of Opposition, and Firhad Hakim as Chief Whip.
Addressing reporters outside the Assembly, TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh alleged that officials declined to receive the letter, citing instructions that no communication from the opposition could be accepted without the Speaker’s approval. He questioned the move and claimed it was aimed at preventing a formal record of the opposition’s position.
According to Ghosh, the party delegation sought to meet the Speaker but was unable to do so. He said the delegation ultimately left the letter on the secretary’s table and recorded the act on video as proof of submission. The letter urges the Speaker to recognise the appointments, arguing that Assembly precedent requires acceptance of the party’s recommendation. It cites similar instances in previous Assemblies and contends that Chattopadhyay had already been recognised as Leader of Opposition during proceedings following the Speaker’s election.
Ghosh also alleged that an Assembly official who had earlier received a similar communication had subsequently been stripped of powers and transferred, though there was no official confirmation of the claim. Responding to the controversy, BJP MLA Tapas Roy said the issue is already part of the CID investigation. He suggested that it could be the reason the communication was not accepted.
