West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose on Wednesday recognised expelled Trinamool Congress MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition after a group of 59 MLAs, including a majority of the party’s legislators, submitted a letter backing his candidature.
Ritabrata has been appointed as the Leader of the Opposition. Under the proposed arrangement, Sandipan Saha and Javed Khan will serve as Assistant Leaders of the Opposition, while Akhruzzaman has been named Chief Whip.
Earlier in the day, Ritabrata visited the Assembly and met the Speaker, claiming the support of 59 legislators out of the total 80 TMC MLAs in the House. According to available information, the Trinamool Congress is preparing to challenge the matter through legal means.
The developments came hours after the TMC formally notified its appointments for key positions in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.
The party informed the Speaker that veteran leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay would serve as the Leader of the Opposition. It also named Ashima Patra and Nayana Bandopadhyay as Deputy Leaders of the Opposition, while Firhad Hakim was appointed Chief Whip.
The notification was sent to the Speaker and sought recognition of the party’s nominees based on long-standing Assembly practices.
The dispute has gained further significance as both Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha were expelled from the All India Trinamool Congress two days ago. The party’s suspension letters are already in the public domain.
Their move to stake claim to leadership positions has now triggered a direct confrontation with the party leadership over who has the authority to nominate the Leader of the Opposition.
In a statement issued at 10 am on June 3, AITC MP Sougata Ray said the facts were clear and were reflected in the party’s communication to the Speaker.
Ray said it has been an established precedent in the West Bengal Assembly that the Leader of the Opposition is recognised on the recommendation of the concerned party. According to him, this practice was followed in 2001, 2011, 2016 and 2021 and has continued this year as well. He said the appointment of Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay had already been accepted by the Speaker after being recommended by the party.
Sougata Ray also pointed out that on May 15, Chattopadhyay carried out the official duties of the Leader of the Opposition by escorting the Speaker to the Chair after the latter’s election. “There is therefore no ambiguity: Shri Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay is the Leader of the Opposition," Ray said.
Source: News18
