KOLKATA, June 1: The TMC on Monday expelled two of its MLAs, Sandipan Saha and Ritabrata Banerjee, for alleged anti-party activities, exposing visible cracks within the party’s legislative wing less than a month after the assembly election results were declared.
The expulsion order came minutes after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari told a press conference at the state secretariat that the two legislators had filed complaints in connection with the ‘fake signature’ case in the state assembly, where the TMC endorsed Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of Opposition.
“It has been brought to the notice of the All India Trinamool Congress through its competent authority that, despite having been elected as a candidate nominated by the AITC, you have repeatedly failed to attend meetings convened by the authorised leadership of the party and have made yourself involved in anti-party activities,” a communication addressed to the two MLAs said.
“It has also been observed that you have engaged in activities and made statements that are prejudicial to the interests of AITC,” the communication, signed by the party vice-president, Chandrima Bhattacharya, added.
After due consideration of the matter, the “competent authority of the AITC has decided to expel you from the (primary) membership of the party with immediate effect”, the communication stated.
“Consequently, you shall cease to hold any position, responsibility, or privilege associated with the party from the date of issuance of this notice,” the notice added.
Minutes before the expulsion notice, Adhikari tore into the TMC camp alleging the “party is yet to get past its fraudulent practices despite being rejected by the people of the state”.
Adhikari said it was at the behest of complaints lodged by the two TMC legislators — Ritabrata Banerjee, who won the Uluberia Purba seat from Howrah, and Sandipan Saha, the MLA from Entally in central Kolkata — that a case of forged signature from the TMC legislative party endorsing Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as LoP was lodged by the Assembly secretariat at the Hare Street police station.
“This inquiry wasn’t initiated by the BJP. It was a follow-up to the complaint lodged before the Speaker on May 27 by the two TMC MLAs, who alleged that no resolution regarding the selection of LoP was passed at their party’s meeting held on May 6.
They complained that their party’s endorsement letter signed by 70 MLAs, of which 14 signatures were made in block letters, was manufactured and fabricated,” the CM said. (PTI)
