Kolkata, April 8 (IANS) A verbal spat between Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs Kalyan Banerjee and Kirti Azad at the Election Commission of India (ECI) premises has sparked controversy, with the BJP releasing videos and screenshots of the alleged altercation. Reacting to the incident, TMC MP Saugata Roy on Tuesday expressed disappointment and said that this shouldn’t have happened.

Speaking to IANS, Saugata Roy said, “I am sad. This should not have happened. I don’t know if this dispute really took place, but if it did, it’s indeed unfortunate. We are 29 people in the Lok Sabha, and we should all work together.”

This comes after the BJP shared screenshots of an alleged WhatsApp conversation between Kalyan Banerjee and Kirti Azad on the social media platform X. These were posted by BJP’s IT cell head, Amit Malviya, who also shared video footage of the alleged heated exchange between the two TMC MPs. According to Malviya, the altercation occurred on April 4 at the ECI premises, where both leaders had gone to submit a memorandum.

Malviya claimed that “soon after the public spat between two TMC MPs in the precincts of the Election Commission of India on 4th April 2025, the irate MP continued slandering the ‘Versatile International Lady (VIL)”.

He also claimed that the spat between the two TMC MPs spilled over into the ‘AITC MP 2024’ WhatsApp group, witnessing barbs exchange among two groups.

“And in the middle of it all, the question still lingers: who exactly is the “versatile international lady”? That mystery is one for the world to unravel,” Malviya’s post read.

Saugata Roy also reacted to another major issue concerning the state i.e. Supreme Court’s recent decision to annul the appointments of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff in state-run and state-aided schools.

“I was deeply saddened by the Supreme Court’s notification cancelling these teacher posts,” Roy stated.

“We are taking several steps to manage the situation, including filing a review petition,” he added.

–IANS

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