Kolkata, July 18 -- The Lok Sabha Speaker's decision to grant separate seating to 20 MPs who broke away from the Trinamool Congress has triggered political reactions in West Bengal.

Suspended TMC leader Riju Dutta described it as a "major development" and said the group has now received formal recognition. He added that Sudip Bandyopadhyay remains the party leader in the House, with Dr. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar as chief whip and Shatabdi Roy as deputy leader.

"This is a major development; 20 out of the 28 TMC MPs have joined the NCPI and have now received formal recognition from Speaker Om Birla. As far as we know, Sudip Bandyopadhyay is the party leader, Dr. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar is the chief whip, and Shatabdi Roy is the deputy leader; s...