No change in TMC's stand of contesting all 42 LS seats in West Bengal: Derek O'Brien
New Delhi, Feb 23: Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien on Friday said there has been "no change" in the party's stand of contesting all 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, a few in Assam and one seat in Meghalaya, amid reports about the Congress soon finalising its seat-sharing arrangements with the party.
The Congress and the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, which are part of the opposition bloc INDIA, are said to have revived their talks to unitedly take on the BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha polls, due in April-May.
However, O'Brien, the TMC leader in the Rajya Sabha, said, "A few weeks ago...West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated that TMC is fighting all the 42 seats in Bengal. We are also in the fray in a few seats in Assam and the Tura Lok Sabha seat in Meghalaya. There is no change in this position."
Earlier in the day, sources said discussions were underway between the Congress and the TMC for seat sharing and that it would be finalised soon.
The TMC, which is the ruling party in West Bengal, has sought two seats in Assam and one in Meghalaya, which are being discussed, they said.
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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
