Kolkata, 01 June (H.S.): The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday expelled two of its legislators, Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, on charges of anti-party activities.
Party sources said the decision was communicated to both leaders through email and WhatsApp, while the information was also conveyed to Assembly Speaker Rathindra Basu.
The action comes amid the ongoing controversy over alleged forged signatures in the West Bengal Assembly. Addressing a press conference at Nabanna earlier in the day, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari disclosed that it was Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha who had submitted a written complaint to the Speaker regarding the matter. Based on their complaint, the Assembly Secretariat subsequently lodged a police complaint at Hare Street Police Station.
The Chief Minister stated that after the matter came to his notice in his capacity as the state's Police Minister, he directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to take up the investigation. Significantly, the TMC leadership decided to expel the two legislators within about 15 minutes of the conclusion of Adhikari's press conference.
Reacting to the party's decision, Sandipan Saha strongly criticised the leadership. He alleged that those engaged in unethical activities were being protected, while those who acted on principle were being punished. Saha further claimed that neither he nor others were aware that signatures placed on an attendance register would later be projected as signatures endorsing a formal proposal.
Following their expulsion, both legislators will now be treated as unattached or independent members in the Assembly. Under legislative rules, they will no longer be bound by the party whip during elections or voting processes within the House. In the present circumstances, the party is also unlikely to be able to seek disqualification of their Assembly membership on the basis of their expulsion alone.
For Ritabrata Banerjee, this is not the first instance of expulsion from a political party. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2014 on a Communist Party of India (Marxist) ticket but was expelled from the party in 2017 following various allegations. He subsequently served the remainder of his tenure in the Upper House as an unattached member.
Later, after Rajya Sabha member Jawhar Sircar resigned from Parliament, Banerjee was nominated to the Upper House by the Trinamool Congress. Subsequently, Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee fielded him as a candidate in the Assembly elections, paving the way for his entry into the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.
The latest development marks a significant escalation in the Assembly signature controversy, which has already triggered a CID investigation and intensified political tensions within the ruling party.
Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh