Calcutta, Sept. 23: Assembly deputy Speaker Sonali Guha today tried to outsmart a CPM MLA on the issue of rigging elections but ended up embarrassing the Trinamul Congress by willy-nilly admitting that the ruling party had learnt the art of election management from the Left.

" Asole ki janen, baire theke lok ene vote korano aapnarai shikhiyechhen (The fact is you taught us how to manage elections by bringing outsiders). History repeats itself," Guha, who was holding the session in the absence of Speaker Biman Banerjee, told CPM MLA Gouranga Chatterjee.

The deputy Speaker's comments left Trinamul MLAs staring at each other, while the Left legislators did not know how to react. The handful of Congress MLAs who were in the House were all smiles but the BJP's lone MLA, Samik Bhattacharya, was wearing the widest grin.

"The CPM was a better organised party and their cadres could spread terror silently. The deputy Speaker has accepted that Trinamul is treading on the path shown by the CPM," Bhattacharya said later in the day.

During zero hour, CPM MLA Chatterjee had made a statement on the alleged gathering of musclemen ahead of the Asansol Municipal Corporation polls on October 3.

"Many miscreants have been brought to Asansol, Kulti, Jamuria and Raniganj from Bankura, Purulia and Birbhum to rig votes. The government should pay attention to this," he said. Even before the Trinamul MLAs could react, Guha intervened.

"There was no need to make such comments. She could have ignored the CPM MLA's statement," said a ruling party MLA from Burdwan who diagnosed Guha with the "foot-in-the-mouth disease".

Another Trinamul MLA said the deputy Speaker should have exercised caution. "All along, we have blamed the CPM for electoral malpractices. She did not stop at accusing the CPM, but dragged us into the controversy ahead of the civic polls," the MLA said.

The deputy Speaker, however, stuck to her stand. "I did not say anything wrong," she told journalists outside the House.