Mamata eyes RJD space in Parliament

After routing the Left parties from political battleground in West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress is eyeing to oust Lalu Prasad's RJD from the latter's office room in Parliament building.

As the Trinamool Congress now has 26 MPs (20 Lok sabha and 6 Rajya Sabha MPs), it is looking at bigger office space in Parliament.

"In 2009, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar allotted us the room that was being used by the RJD. But Lalu refused to vacate it. We will ask for it again with her," party's chief whip and minister of state for health Sudip Bandopadhyay told HT.

In the chief whips meeting on Wednesday, Bandopadhyay raised his demand even as it was not on the agenda.

In 2004, Lalu Prasad got a third floor office room in Parliament as his party was the second-largest UPA ally with 22 Lok Sabha MPs. The RJD slipped to just four MPs in the 2009, but Prasad refused to shift.

Similarly, the Telugu Desam Party didn't leave its office-located at a prime place on the ground floor-for the DMK in 2004.

The Trinamool Congress has an office in Parliament building that was allotted to the party in 1999, when it had just seven MPs.

"Not more than nine people can sit there. How can we accommodate 26 people for a meeting?" asks Bandopadhyay.

Next year, the Trinamool Congress is likely to add three more MPs in its team from the Rajya Sabha.