Kolkata: Amid the ongoing political turmoil in West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has suffered a major legal setback. The Calcutta High Court on Thursday has categorically refused to grant an interim stay on the decision of state Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose, in which he recognized rebel TMC MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly. The court made it clear that there would be no immediate change to the existing position.
What did the court say?
This decision is being considered a major blow to TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee’s choice candidate and senior leader Shobhon Deb Chattopadhyay, whom the party officially wanted to see in this post.
While hearing the case, a single bench of Justice Krishna Rao of the Calcutta High Court refused to grant any immediate interim stay on the TMC’s petition.
Senior lawyer and Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee, representing the TMC, argued that the right to elect the Leader of the Opposition in any political party rests with the “political party” (the original TMC led by Mamata Banerjee), not the “legislative party” (the group of MLAs). He alleged that the Speaker’s decision violates the basic structure of the Constitution. However, the court declined to overturn or stay the Speaker’s order for now, moving on to further proceedings.
What is the whole controversy and ‘Signature Theory’?
Following the West Bengal Assembly election results, the TMC sent a proposal to the Assembly Speaker to appoint Shobhon Deb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of the Opposition. However, the story took a turn when two MLAs, Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, filed a complaint alleging that their signatures on the letter supporting Shobhon were forged.
Soon after, a CID investigation into the matter began on the instructions of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. In response to this rebellion, the TMC expelled Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha on June 1, accusing them of “anti-party activities.”
Support of 58 MLAs and Speaker’s approval
Despite being expelled from the party, Ritabrata Banerjee turned the tables. He submitted a letter of support from 58 of the 80 rebel TMC MLAs to Speaker Rathindra Bose and demanded to be declared the leader of the genuine opposition bloc.
On June 3, the Speaker acknowledged this majority and recognized Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and Sandipan Saha as the Chief Whip. Shobhon and Mamata Banerjee herself approached the High Court against this decision.
