Our bid for TMC legislature party status got Speaker nod, claims Ritabrata

Expelled TMC leader Ritabrata Banerjee on Wednesday said the West Bengal Assembly speaker had accepted the rebel camp's bid to be recognised as the party's legislature wing and urged Mamata Banerjee to serve as its chief adviser.

This came after 58 dissident MLAs backed legislator Ritabrata Banerjee, who has been expelled from the TMC, as the leader of the legislature party and conveyed their decision to Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose.

The latest development effectively placed the control of the TMC's legislative party in the hands of dissidents and marked the most serious challenge yet to the authority of the party leadership following its defeat in the recent assembly polls.

 

Addressing a press conference in the Assembly after meeting the Speaker, Ritabrata Banerjee said his camp had submitted the signatures of 58 MLAs elected on the TMC symbol and "our claim has been accepted by the Speaker".

Claiming that a clear majority of the party's legislators were now behind him, he asserted the dissident faction represented the legitimate opposition in the House.

"The TMC legislative party is a team of 58 MLAs who won on the TMC symbol," he said. According to Banerjee, two more legislators currently outside the state have also conveyed their support.

"Two other MLAs are likely to join us. Once they formally extend their support, our strength will rise further," Ritabrata Banerjee said.

He said the Speaker had accepted the new composition of the legislature party and that the office meant for the Leader of the Opposition had been opened for him.

The rebel camp also unveiled a new leadership structure for the legislature party.

Banerjee announced that Akhruzzaman had been appointed chief whip, while veteran legislators Javed Ahmed Khan, Sandeepan Saha, Sabina Yasmin and Shiuli Saha would serve as deputy leaders.

"The letters communicating these appointments have already been submitted to the Speaker," he said.

In a significant political gesture, Raitabrata Banerjee appealed to TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee to guide the legislature party despite the ongoing rebellion. "We would request Mamata Banerjee to play the role of the chief adviser of the legislative party," he said.

At the same time, he indicated that the dissident camp had little political engagement with Mamata Banerjee's nephew and TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee.