The Calcutta High Court has refused to grant an interim stay on the West Bengal Assembly Speaker’s decision appointing dissident Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Ritabhrata Banerjee as the Leader of Opposition (LoP). The order is seen as a significant setback for former chief minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee.
After the recent Assembly election, the BJP won for the first time in the state and its leader Suvendu Adhikari took oath as chief minister. The TMC, which won 80 seats and lost power after 15 years, had earlier indicated Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as its choice for LoP and submitted a supporting letter to the Speaker.
However, questions arose when some signatures on that letter were found to be forged, leading to directions for a CID probe. Amid escalating internal rifts, Ritabhrata Banerjee and others were expelled from the party for taking the dispute to the Speaker instead of resolving it internally.
Subsequently, 60 MLAs aligned with Ritabhrata Banerjee backed a separate resolution and letter to the Speaker, following which he was appointed LoP. The TMC then moved the High Court seeking a stay on the Speaker’s decision, but Justice Krishna Rao said there was no basis to grant the interim relief sought.
The judge also raised questions about the Speaker’s handling of the competing letters—why the May 9 communication from the party leadership was kept pending while action was taken promptly on the dissidents’ June 3 letter. The court directed the Speaker and the dissident camp to file affidavits within three weeks and posted the matter for further hearing on July 28.
