Calcutta, June 10: The Assembly has become the latest stage for Trinamul Congress slugfests.

Rajarhat-Gopalpur MLA Sabyasachi Dutta today alleged in the House that a canal along VIP Road that falls in the constituency of long-time party rival Sujit Bose had been illegally filled and encroached on.

The comments came two days after government chief whip Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay got involved in a spat with Aroop Biswas in the Assembly corridor, with the veteran leader accusing the minister and his brother of unleashing " goonda raj".

"Around 2.5km of the canal along VIP Road from Golaghata to Lake Town has been illegally filled up and encroached on. The PWD minister should look into the issue," Dutta said in the Assembly.

The area mentioned by Dutta is part of the Trinamul-run South Dum Dum municipality, which is part of Bose's constituency, Bidhannagar. Dutta is the vice-chairman of the municipality.

In Trinamul circles, Dutta is known as a follower of former party all-India general secretary Mukul Roy. Although he has been maintaining a distance from Roy for some time, Dutta's "loyalty to the party is suspect", a source said.

"Bose is the Bidhannagar MLA while Sabyasachi is the South Dum Dum municipality's vice-chairman. Their rivalry is a result of a clash of interests. Both want to show who is the boss in Salt Lake," said a Trinamul MLA from North 24-Parganas.

This is not the first time Dutta has caused a flutter in the Assembly. Last Wednesday, Dutta's admission on the floor of the House that building materials supply syndicates were operating in Rajarhat-New Town had left Trinamul red in the face.

Dutta and Bose are said to have been involved in a duel for long over the control of the building materials supply business and autorickshaw unions in Salt Lake and the opening of shops.

In August 2013, supporters of the two leaders had clashed on EM Bypass, stalling a survey to relocate squatters blocking the East-West Metro project in Duttabad. Both Bose and Dutta have staked claim on Duttabad, a source of muscle power for Trinamul.

Talking to reporters later, Dutta said he had merely quoted the report of the public works department standing committee.

"The report has observed that PWD land in different parts of the state, especially canals along VIP Road and Rajarhat, has been illegally filled up by promoters. I raised an issue that has already been discussed by the standing committee," said Dutta, adding that some people had asked him to "reveal the truth" in the Assembly.

The standing committee chairman is RSP MLA Subhas Naskar. Dutta is a member of the panel.

Dutta alleged that filling up of the canal would raise the price of land. "A one-cottah plot costs between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 35 lakh in the area now. It could go up to Rs 1.5 crore. This would not be possible without political patronage," he said.

Bose denied Dutta's charges. "Those who are making such charges are unaware of the truth. No illegal work is being done on that stretch of VIP Road. The PWD had undertaken a beautification project. A case was filed with the green tribunal and the work is being done according to the recommendations," Bose said.

Trinamul sources said the leadership had taken note of Dutta's statements.

"Both the MLAs would be asked to explain what is going on. Dutta would also have to explain why he is making statements in the House that are embarrassing the government and the party," a senior Trinamul minister said.