There is a stir in Trinamool Congress (TMC) after the crushing defeat in the assembly elections in West Bengal. Many MPs and MLAs of the party have taken a rebellious attitude, due to which the troubles of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee are increasing continuously. Meanwhile, a new controversy has arisen regarding the post of Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state. TMC has challenged in the Calcutta High Court the decision of Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose, in which rebel leader Ritabrata Banerjee has been recognized as the Leader of Opposition. The party alleges that this decision is against parliamentary traditions and rules.
Senior advocate Sirsanya Bandopadhyay has filed the petition, which is likely to be heard in the single bench of Justice Krishna Rao on June 11. The party has demanded from the court a judicial review of the decision of Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose and recognition of senior leader Shobhandev Chattopadhyay, nominated by former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee faction, as the Leader of Opposition.
58 MLAs supported Ritabrata Banerjee
This controversy started when 58 out of 80 TMC MLAs separated from the party line and supported Ritabrata Banerjee. Just two days after Ritabrata Banerjee was expelled from the party, he staked claim to the post of Leader of Opposition with the support of 58 MLAs. Another expelled MLA Sandipan Saha was recognized as the Assistant Leader of Opposition.
TMC announced Shobhandev’s name
Just hours before Ritabrata Banerjee’s claim, TMC had formally announced that Shobhandev Chattopadhyay would be the leader of the opposition. The party had appointed Ashima Patra and Nayana Bandyopadhyay as Deputy Leader of Opposition and Firhad Hakim as Chief Whip.
Ritabrata Banerjee’s appointment challenged in court
The party leadership has opposed the appointment of Ritabrata Banerjee, after which this decision has now been challenged in the court. TMC MP and senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee said that the Assembly Speaker’s decision is a violation of rules and parliamentary procedures. However, Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose defended his decision, saying that Ritabrata Banerjee’s faction had the necessary numbers and hence it was given recognition.
Controversy increased due to allegations of signature being fake
Actually, the reason for this controversy is a proposal presented by the party on 6 May. Rebel TMC MLAs Ritabrata and Sandipan Saha had filed a complaint before the Speaker, in which they had alleged that the resolution nominating Shobhandev Chattopadhyay was fabricated and fake. He also claimed that no formal resolution was passed on May 6 and the signatures of many MLAs were forged. He alleged that the signatures of him and several other TMC MLAs on the document bearing the names of the party’s opposition leader, deputy leader and chief whip in the Assembly were forged.
Statements of 13 TMC MLAs recorded
After a preliminary inquiry by the Principal Secretary of the Assembly, an FIR was lodged at the Hare Street police station, after which the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) took over the investigation. According to reports, CID has so far recorded the statements of 13 TMC MLAs. Among them, Baharul Islam, Arup Roy and Subhashish Das clearly refused to put their signatures on the document.
Abhishek Banerjee CID sent summons
Meanwhile, TMC expelled Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha from the party, accusing them of anti-party activities. In this case, CID has issued summons to TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee for the third time on Monday and called him for questioning on Tuesday. However, Abhishek Banerjee has written a letter to CID asking for additional time for appearance. He has said that the case is already pending in the High Court and he is currently present in Delhi. Abhishek has already approached the vacation bench of the High Court challenging the CID notice. Now all eyes are on the hearing to be held on 10th and 11th June.
Leave a Reply