Opposition, a 'fallen lot' in Bengal Assembly

Kolkata, June 9 (UNI) With a drastic fall in strength, neither the Trinamool Congress nor the Congress will be able to move a no confidence motion on their own against the Government in the 14th West Bengal Assembly which begins on June 12.

In the peculiar present situation, in which the Trinamool has bagged 29 seats, just one short of being recognised as the main Opposition, and the Congress got 21, no single party is in a position to be a solo mover of such a motion at least for the time being, Speaker Hashim Abdul Halim today said.

'' In the present situation, no single party can move no confidence motion. If one wants to do so, it has to take the support from any other party, '' he told reporters at a press conference.

Mr Halim, discharging responsibility as Speaker since 1982, is set to retain his chair in the new House as election for the coveted post will be held on the opening day.

Making it worse for the Trinamool Congress, Legislature Party leader Partha Chatterjee will be denied a car or a private secretary, admissible to the leader of the main opposition, in the absence of the required number.

He would be given a room as alloted to all other parties and a class four employee, Mr.Halim said.

'' The opposition will be getting everything they are entitled to.

There will be nothing less or more, '' he said.

In the newly constituted House of 294, in which the ruling Left Front has an overwhelming command with 235 members, the total strength of the combined opposition, including smaller outfits like GNLF and SUCI, is only 58 as against 95 in the 13th Assembly.

However, the Trinamool, which cornered 30 seats to be eligible for the status of the main opposition party, was unlucky in sliding below the benchmark after Mr.Bhupen Seth, the party's MLA from Bongaon, died a few days after the results were declared.

However, things could improve for the Trinamool if it retains the seat in the byelection, which is yet to be declared.

In the 2001 elections, the Trinamool Congress won 60 seats to be the main opposition party and its Legislature Party leader Pankaj Banejree enjoyed the status of the opposition leader, at par with a Cabinet Minister.

To a question on the dwindled opposition strength, Mr Halim denied that it had anything to do with the standard required to set examples of responsibility in Parliamentary democracy. '' For a responsible opposition what matters is the quality of leadership, not the number of members, '' he said.

Recalling the role played by Mr Jyoti Basu as leader of the undivided Communist Party in the fifties, the Speaker said the Communists, despite having only two members in the House had set a good example of a responsible Opposition.

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