A petition challenging the decision of West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose to accept expelled Trinamool Congress legislator Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition was filed at the Calcutta High Court. The petition was submitted by veteran party legislator Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, who was initially nominated for the same position by Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee. The matter has been admitted by the vacation bench of Justice Krishna Rao and is scheduled for a hearing on June 11.
The petition arises as the original party legislators remain aligned with Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, while a new bloc led by Ritabrata Banerjee claims majority support. Currently, the Trinamool Congress holds 80 seats in the 294-seat West Bengal assembly, with 60 legislators supporting Ritabrata’s bloc and 20 legislators backing the old bloc.
An ongoing Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe is investigating discrepancies in signatures on a crucial resolution submitted to the Speaker’s office. The resolution nominated Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of the Opposition, with Asima Patra and Nayna Bandopadhyay as deputy leaders, and Firhad Hakim as the Chief Whip. The CID probe was initiated following discrepancies highlighted by Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, who were later suspended by the Trinamool Congress.
After the suspension, Ritabrata and Sandipan led 60 legislators in a revolt, submitting a fresh resolution asserting themselves as the majority bloc. Subsequently, the Speaker recognized Ritabrata as the official Leader of the Opposition.
