- Calcutta High Court declines interim stay on Speaker’s decision.
- Ritabrata Banerjee recognised as Leader of Opposition by Speaker.
- Court questions whether an expelled legislator can lead opposition without party consent.
- CID probe into alleged signature forgery in TMC resolution continues.
GG News Bureau
Kolkata, 12th June: The Calcutta High Court has declined to grant interim relief against West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose’s decision to recognise expelled Trinamool Congress MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition and head of the majority bloc of the party in the Assembly.
The matter came up before the vacation bench of Justice Krishna Rao, which refused to pass any interim protective order on the Speaker’s decision.
Instead, the court directed that the Speaker’s formal order be placed before the bench and advised all parties to return to court after furnishing the relevant documents.
The petition challenging the Speaker’s decision was filed earlier this week following a dramatic split within the Trinamool Congress legislative party.
During the hearing, Justice Rao raised a key question on whether a legislator expelled from a political party could be recognised as the Leader of the Opposition without the formal consent of the party concerned.
The issue has assumed significance amid an ongoing power struggle within the Trinamool Congress.
At present, the party has 80 legislators in the 294-member West Bengal Assembly. Ritabrata Banerjee has claimed the support of 60 MLAs, a figure he later said had increased to 65 by June 1. The remaining 20 legislators continue to support the faction led by former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and party National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
The controversy is linked to a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe into alleged discrepancies in signatures appearing on a resolution submitted to the Speaker’s office.
The disputed resolution had nominated Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the Opposition, Asima Patra and Nayna Bandopadhyay as deputy leaders of the opposition, and Firhad Hakim as the Chief Whip of the Trinamool Congress legislative party.
Allegations of signature mismatches were raised by Ritabrata Banerjee and fellow MLA Sandipan Saha, prompting the initiation of the CID investigation.
Following their complaint, the Trinamool Congress suspended both legislators from the party.
The suspension triggered a major rebellion, with 60 legislators backing Ritabrata Banerjee and submitting a fresh resolution claiming majority support within the legislative party.
Speaker Rathindra Bose subsequently accepted the new resolution and officially recognised Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition.
Meanwhile, the CID investigation into the alleged signature forgery and related documents remains underway, adding a legal dimension to the political crisis unfolding within the Trinamool Congress.
The matter is expected to return to the Calcutta High Court once the Speaker’s detailed order is placed before the bench.
