Expelled TMC MLA Claims Support of 59 Legislators
Ritabrata Banerjee Stakes Claim for Opposition Leadership as Signature Forgery Probe Deepens
- Expelled TMC MLA Ritabrata Banerjee claims backing of 59 legislators
- Fresh rift emerges over Leader of Opposition selection in Bengal Assembly
- CID investigating allegations of forged signatures on support letter
- TMC expelled Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha for anti-party activities
GG News Bureau
Kolkata, 3rd June: Political turmoil intensified within the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Wednesday after expelled party MLA Ritabrata Banerjee arrived at the West Bengal Assembly claiming the support of 59 legislators and staking his claim to the post of Leader of the Opposition.
Banerjee, who was expelled from the party on Monday for alleged anti-party activities, asserted that he had the backing of a majority of TMC MLAs. He arrived at the Assembly along with legislators including Arup Roy, Shiuli Saha and Akhruzzaman.
The development comes amid a growing controversy over the appointment of veteran TMC leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the Opposition.
“Today, we will hold a meeting to select the Leader of the Opposition,” TMC MLA Sabina Yasmin told reporters outside the Assembly.
Another TMC legislator, Mustafizur Rahman, confirmed that he had signed the letter supporting Banerjee.
“We don’t know the exact figure. I am hearing from outside that 59 signatures have been received. I have also signed,” Rahman said.
However, some legislators remained cautious. TMC MLA Priya Paul declined to comment before attending the meeting, saying she would speak later.
The controversy erupted after Ritabrata Banerjee and fellow expelled MLA Sandipan Saha alleged that signatures on a letter backing Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay’s appointment were forged.
The allegations prompted the Assembly Secretariat to file a police complaint, following which the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) launched an inquiry.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the dispute originated within the TMC itself and that the BJP had no role in the matter.
“Trinamool’s corruption did not just target the people of Bengal but also its own MLAs. The complaint was made by two Trinamool MLAs, Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha. We had no role in this,” Adhikari told reporters.
He said the CID had begun collecting signature samples from legislators whose names appeared on the disputed document.
According to the Chief Minister, TMC MLAs Baharul Islam, Arup Roy and Subhashish Das have reportedly informed investigators that they did not sign the letter submitted in support of Chattopadhyay.
“The investigating officer will decide the next course of action as per law,” Adhikari said.
Ritabrata Banerjee, who represents Uluberia Purba, and Sandipan Saha, MLA from Entally, were expelled by the TMC on Monday afternoon over alleged anti-party activities.
With the CID probe underway and competing claims emerging over legislative support, the controversy has exposed fresh fault lines within the ruling party and intensified scrutiny of its internal functioning.
