Kolkata, June 18: In a significant ruling amidst ongoing political turmoil in West Bengal, the Calcutta High Court has upheld a crucial decision by the state assembly speaker. On Thursday, a single bench of the High Court denied an interim stay on the speaker Rathindra Bose’s decision, which recognized expelled Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as the leader of the majority faction in the assembly and the Leader of the Opposition (LOP).
The hearing on the petition regarding this matter concluded on Wednesday, after which Justice Krishna Rao reserved the verdict. On Thursday morning, he announced the decision, denying any interim relief against the speaker’s ruling.
This ruling means that Ritabrata Banerjee will continue to serve as the Leader of the Opposition in the assembly for now. Additionally, the claim by the TMC’s minority faction to appoint senior MLA Shobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the opposition leader has been weakened.
Currently, the West Bengal assembly has 294 members, with the TMC holding a total of 80 seats. It is claimed that 60 of these MLAs are aligned with Ritabrata Banerjee’s rebel faction. Banerjee himself asserted earlier this week that he has the support of 64 MLAs.
On the other hand, the original faction loyal to former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee reportedly has the backing of 20 MLAs.
Although Justice Krishna Rao did not issue any interim order regarding the speaker’s decision, he clarified that the next hearing in the case will take place on July 28. The court has instructed both the petitioner and the respondent to submit their affidavits before the upcoming hearing.
Amidst this controversy, a CID investigation is also underway. Allegations of discrepancies in the signatures of certain MLAs were raised in a proposal submitted to the speaker. This proposal suggested appointing Shobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the opposition leader, along with Asima Patra and Nayana Bandopadhyay as deputy leaders, and Firhad Hakim as the chief whip.
The issue of alleged discrepancies in signatures was raised by Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, prompting the CID to initiate an investigation. Shortly thereafter, the TMC suspended both leaders.
Following their suspension, 60 MLAs led by Ritabrata Banerjee rebelled and submitted a new proposal to the speaker, claiming to represent the majority faction of the TMC. Subsequently, the speaker accepted this proposal and recognized Ritabrata Banerjee as the opposition leader.
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