Delhi12 hours agoAuthor: Tirthankar Das
Photographs showing Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy seated at the same table as Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J.P. Nadda in Parliament have sparked political speculation over possible backchannel communication between the BJP and the Kalighat faction of the Trinamool Congress.
Photos trigger fresh political speculation nationwide
The images, which have gone viral on social media, show Roy and fellow TMC MP Shatrughan Sinha seated at a table where Nadda was present. Another photograph shows Roy sharing a lunch table with both Shah and Nadda in the Parliament canteen.
Saugata Roy dismisses backchannel meeting claims
Responding to the speculation, Roy dismissed suggestions of any political meeting or discussion. “There was no conversation with Amit Shah. There was no separate discussion with J.P. Nadda either. We had reached the table first, and they joined later,” he said.
Parliament canteen lunch fuels fresh buzz
Asked whether the Kalighat faction of the Trinamool was maintaining communication with the BJP, Roy replied, “No. In fact, BJP leaders are approaching us. We are asking those who left for the BJP to return.”
TMC MP explains viral meeting photographs
Meanwhile, former TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who has since joined the NCPI, said the photographs had raised questions.
While describing one image as a possible chance meeting in the Parliament canteen, she suggested the other appeared to show a more direct interaction, adding that such political discussions are not uncommon. She clarified that she did not know about any such engagement.
