Kolkata: The rebel MLAs’ bloc in the Bengal assembly will not replicate the rebel MPs’ model in Parliament, expelled Trinamool MLA and leader of the opposition Ritabrata Banerjee said on Monday.“I have seen through media reports that 20 Lok Sabha MPs have decided to merge with NCPI. That is their decision, they have collectively taken it. As far as our collective is concerned, we have no such idea,” Ritabrata said.His comments came on a day former Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim and rebel MP Mala Roy exchanged courtesies with CM Suvendu Adhikari at the KMC headquarters, with Hakim following it up with a meeting with Ritabrata in the assembly. The assembly’s Business Advisory Committee meeting is slated for Tuesday, where the budget session schedule will be drawn up.Asked about the meeting, Ritabrata said: “I am not sure exactly who else will attend. I will go, and my chief whip will go.”With one more rebel MLA writing to the speaker, he added, “We have one more member joining us, and that takes the tally to 65. We don’t know if anyone else will join us. If the names are made public at this stage, it would amount to breach of privilege.” The dissident camp maintained on Monday that 62 MLAs have already submitted “letters” to speaker Rathindra Bose.Ritabrata refused to share any details of his meeting with Hakim. “Hakim was an active MLA. He came to meet me. There were senior ministers and MPs too,” he said.Hakim was earlier seen sharing the stage with Adhikari at the launch of a special cleanliness drive at the KMC headquarters. Two other TMC’s victorious MLAs (Javed Ahmed Khan and Sandipan Saha) and South Kolkata MP Roy were also on the dais.The CM mentioned Roy and Hakim, expressing his satisfaction over the decision of the “opposition” MLAs to extend cooperation to the BJP govt on “matters that concern the city”.Adhikari also thanked a large number of TMC councillors of the outgoing civic board who were present. Tarak Singh, the former mayor-in-council, and septuagenarian Tapan Dasgupta, a former councillor from Golf Green, greeted Adhikari. Kajari Banerjee, Mamata Banerjee’s sister-in-law, also exchanged pleasantries with the CM.“I am happy to see a large number of councillors who have responded to a call by the administrator, Smita Pandey, and joined our cleanliness initiative,” said Adhikari.
