The Calcutta High Court on Thursday dismissed a plea by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) for an interim order on West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathendra Nath Bose’s decision to recognize expelled party leader Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of the Opposition (LoP).
“The court found no prima facie case or balance of convenience [the test determining whether to grant an interim injunction or temporary relief in civil litigation] On petitioner’s prayer for grant of interim order. “The interim order is dismissed,” Justice Krishna Rao said.
The court on Wednesday reserved its order on the petition filed by TMC lawmaker Subhandeep Chattopadhyay challenging Bose’s June 3 order. It asked all parties to submit written representations as the court will hear the petition after three weeks.
Justice Rao had earlier questioned Bose’s decision, even when TMC nominated Chattopadhyay for the LoP post.
TMC has been fighting fires since it lost power in West Bengal last month after 15 years. It expelled two of its 78 legislators, Banerjee and Sandiban Saha, before 57 of them rebelled and supported Banerjee as the MLA. Twenty rebel TMC parliamentarians have proposed merging with the little-known Indian Nationalist Citizens Party. They supported the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, boosting the ruling coalition’s numbers in the Lok Sabha.
Three of the 13 members of the Transitional Military Council also resigned.
On June 3, Bose recognized 58 legislators of the rebel TMC as the main opposition party and appointed Banerjee and Saha as the party’s MLA and deputy. This came a month after the BJP came to power in West Bengal for the first time, winning 207 of the 294 seats. The number of TMC has been reduced to 80.
The TMC expelled Banerjee and Saha on June 1 after Prime Minister Suvendu Adhikari said a written complaint from the two had led to an investigation into the alleged forgery of signatures of some TMC legislators on the May 19 resolution nominating Chattopadhyay as a party MP. TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee was named in the alleged forgery case as he sent a copy of the resolution to Bose.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh emphasized that their party is the opposition party and Chattopadhyay is the opposition party. “We are not bothered about who has captured the chair through backdoor politics. This has been entrenched in the people’s court and political arena in West Bengal. We do not give any importance to it,” he said.
Saha described the Supreme Court’s decision as a moral victory in their battle. “…58 legislators sent a letter to the Speaker expressing their support for Banerjee as the Express Line. The Speaker recognized it as the Express Line. Today, the resolution has got the stamp of the Calcutta High Court,” Saha said.
BJP legislator Tarunjyoti Tiwari said the numbers speak on the floor of the Assembly. “Banerjee had the numbers. He claimed to be LoP. The speaker agreed to it. One faction moved the Supreme Court. The court rejected their prayers,” he said.
