Saugata Roy questions BJP stand on NCPI ahead of KMC polls; calls Nepal floods 'very major tragedy'

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress MP, Saugata Roy, on Friday questioned whether the BJP would accept NCPI members as part of its panel for the upcoming Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) elections, while also describing the devastating floods in Nepal as a "very major tragedy”.

Reacting to NCPI MP, Sudip Bandyopadhyay’s claim that his party would contest the KMC elections as a constituent of the NDA, Saugata Roy said the decision would ultimately be for the BJP to take.

“That is their decision. Whether the BJP will accept these NCPI people as part of their panel remains to be seen,” Roy said.

He referred to a statement by BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar, saying he had indicated that the BJP would contest the upcoming elections on its own.

“I have seen a statement by Sukanta Majumdar in which he said that the BJP will fight the upcoming elections alone. So, let’s see what happens,” Roy said.

Bandyopadhyay had said on Wednesday that the NCPI would contest the upcoming KMC elections as an NDA constituent.

“We will contest the elections as an NDA party and have spoken to senior BJP leaders, who confirmed it,” the NCPI MP told reporters.

Majumdar, however, had earlier maintained that the BJP had no ally in West Bengal and that the party had contested the Assembly elections independently.

“Our state president has already said that the BJP has no ally in the state. We did not contest the Assembly elections with any partner in Bengal. We fought on our own and won so many seats. Therefore, there has been no discussion on contesting the KMC elections with any ally. No such proposal has come to me either,” Majumdar told reporters during a news conference at his New Town residence.

However, after Bandyopadhyay’s remarks, Majumdar said he had no information about the matter and that only BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya or Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari could speak on the issue.

Reacting separately to the devastating floods in Nepal, Roy expressed concern over the loss of lives and Indians who remain stranded or unaccounted for in the neighbouring country.

“The incident in Nepal is a very tragic and difficult disaster. It is still not clear how many people have lost their lives. Many Indian citizens are stranded there and their families have not been able to receive any information about them,” Roy said.

He added that a large number of people from West Bengal were reportedly unaccounted for in Nepal.

“More than 300 people from Bengal are reportedly unaccounted for there. So, this is a very major tragedy,” he said.

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