The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC on Monday moved the Calcutta High Court challenging the West Bengal Assembly Speaker's decision to recognise Ritabrata Banerjee,
leader of a breakaway faction of the party, as the Leader of the Opposition. Seeking an urgent hearing, the TMC's lawyer stated before the court that the first session of the 18th West Bengal Assembly is scheduled to begin on June 18. Justice Krishna Rao, before whom the matter was mentioned on grounds of urgency, directed that the petition be taken up for hearing at the top of the list on June 11. He directed the petitioner's lawyer to serve notice to the parties in the matter in the meantime. The petitioner's lawyer told the court that the Speaker of the House is the main respondent in the petition. In a major setback for the TMC, 58 of its 80 MLAs had backed Ritabrata Banerjee for the post of leader of the opposition, rejecting the party's official nominee Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay. In the recent Assembly elections, the BJP won 207 seats, while the TMC secured 80.
Mamata Loses TMC Grip Totally, Nearly 20 'Rebel' MPs Extend Support to NDA
In another jolt to Mamata Banerjee, nearly 20 TMC rebel MPs on Monday reportedly held closed door meetings with the BJP and later in the day announced their support for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh said that they are going to write to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and formally express their desire to join the NDA.
In a statement, another statement, Ghosh said, "... Things have been getting from bad to worse, and I have been with Mamata Banerjee for 40 years... It is useless to say that just because she is not in power in West Bengal, I have left. It is not that... In the last 3-4 years, the pressure was too much on the government officers to work according to the whims and fancies of certain leadership... We want to work for the development of the state and for the national interest and the safety and security of the nation. That is why we want to work separately."
Meanwhile, rebel leader Ritabrata Banerjee portrayed veteran Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Shekhar Ray's resignation from the party and the Upper House as a sign of widening dissent against the official leadership.
