Setback for Mamata as rebel Ritabrata Banerjee stays Bengal LoP after HC declines interim relief
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Justice Krishna Rao directed the respondents to file their objection statements within three weeks; The petitioner was allowed to file a response within two weeks thereafter. The issue was listed for re-discussion on July 28. In the absence of any interim decision, Banerjee will continue her duties as Leader of Opposition in the Assembly.
The petition was filed by senior TMC leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, loyal to party chief Mamata Banerjee, who has challenged the Speaker’s decision amid the ongoing internal crisis within the party following its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections.
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Chattopadhyay claimed that after the election results were announced on May 4, the TMC MPs unanimously nominated him as the Leader of the Opposition at the meeting of the TMC MPs held on May 6 and the decision was officially conveyed to the Speaker. The Speaker of the Assembly then requested a copy of the legislative party’s decision and meeting minutes, after which the TMK held a new meeting on May 19 and delivered the decision along with the participation paper.
According to the petition, despite receiving the documents, the Speaker ignored the TMC’s official communication and instead recognized Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of Opposition based on the support given by a rebel faction of TMC legislators. Chattopadhyay challenged the decision before the Supreme Court, arguing that the Speaker did not recognize the candidate chosen by the party’s formally elected legislators.
