In favour of Opposition unity but should not be taken for granted: TMC after skipping protest march

On Thursday, a day after the session was adjourned sine die ahead of schedule, several opposition leaders, led by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, took out a march from Parliament to Vijay Chowk, attacking the government on various issues.

While parties like NCP, Shiv Sena, RJD, SP, DMK, CPI(M), CPI and others were present, the TMC was missing.

TMC leaders held a separate press conference where they slammed the government for suppressing the Opposition's voice in Parliament.

"The Prime Minister runs away from the Parliament, they are not appointing a Deputy Speaker in Lok Sabha because they do not want any Opposition party to have that post, they are trampling democracy... We represent 63 per cent of the people of the country," TMC MP Saugata Roy said.

Asked about missing the Opposition march, he said, "We worked in unity with the entire Opposition in the session. However, TMC fought Bengal elections alone, and we are running the government alone. Our position is little different from other political parties."

"In Maharashtra, Congress, Shiv Sena and NCP are running an alliance government, similarly in Tamil Nadu, DMK is in alliance with CPI(M) and CPI... Our position is a little different," he said.

"We have no such compulsion. Our party deserves to be treated differently. While we are totally with Opposition, we should not be taken for granted," he said.

"It can't be that someone calls and says come for this... We need to talk to our leaders before making a decision. Trinamool is with the Opposition, but there is a way to do it," he said.

With 34 MPs, the TMC is the third largest political party in Parliament.