Court setback for Mamata Banerjee, Ritabrata Banerjee to stay on as LoP for now
In a setback to Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee, the Calcutta High Court on Thursday refused to pass any interim stay on the Speaker's
In a setback to Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee, the Calcutta High Court on Thursday refused to pass any interim stay on the Speaker's decision of accepting rebel TMC MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of Opposition in the Bengal Assembly. For now, Ritabrata Banerjee will continue as the Leader of the Opposition, and Speaker Rathin Basu's decision remains in force.
The court did not interfere with the Speaker's decision. Read Full Story Justice Krishna Rao said that the next hearing in the matter will be held on July 28. He directed all parties to file their affidavits before the next date of hearing. Following the Trinamool Congress's rout in the Assembly elections, a split emerged within its legislative party.
Most of the party's MLAs turned "rebels." The party leadership had proposed senior leader Shovandeb Chattopadhyay as the leader of the legislative party. However, defying the party's decision, Ritabrata secured the support of 58 MLAs and became the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly. Earlier, on June 1, the Trinamool leadership had decided to expel Ritabrata from the party on charges of "anti-party activities." The petitioner, TMC MLA and Mamata Banerjee loyalist Shovandeb Chattopadhyay, had approached the Calcutta High Court seeking an interim stay on the Speaker's decision.
The plea was rejected by the court on Thursday. This is a developing story. It will be updated. Ends
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