The nomination of Congress's K Suresh for the post of the Speaker has ruffled feathers in Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, which claims that it was a unilateral decision by the Congress. Senior Trinamool leader Sudip Bandopadhyay said the Trinamool was not consulted about this issue. Congress sources said it was a last-minute decision and they had to take a call on the issue 10 minutes before the noon deadline.
"I saw on TV and came to know… Derek O'Brien came and asked me and I said there has been no discussion," he told NDTV in an exclusive interview.
"The Congress must explain. It (the reason) is best known to them," he said.
Asked whether Trinamool will consider supporting Mr Suresh, he said, "We will have a meeting and discuss and our leader will take a call… it is a party decision".
In a first, the Opposition has decided to force an election for the post of the Speaker, fielding Mr Suresh, who they expected to be picked as the pro tem Speaker. Their demand for a Deputy Speaker — a post traditionally filled from Opposition ranks — has not received any response from the government either.